by Tim Creamer, Head of Lower and Middle Schools at Commonwealth Academy in Alexandria, VA
As an educator, I’ve always believed students should have a voice in their learning, but it took several key steps in my career to reach gcLi, where that belief truly came into focus.
I had been a teacher in Massachusetts in both public and independent schools since 2001. In February of 2018, a former colleague texted me from Charlotte, North Carolina. There was a middle school science opening at her new school, Charlotte Latin School, and she thought I would be a good fit. My wife’s entire family had gradually relocated to Charlotte over the past twenty years, and our family saw this as an interesting opportunity. I applied, interviewed, and ultimately became a faculty member at Charlotte Latin.
After a year of teaching, my supervisor and Middle School Division Head Todd Ballaban (gcLi graduate, 2014) became a valuable mentor in my leadership journey. He saw me prove myself as a capable educator and a leader among colleagues. By the end of that school year, he offered me the expanded role of Seventh Grade Team Leader, and I accepted. When I told him I wanted to explore school leadership further and better understand my path, he immediately said, “You need to go to gcLi.” The gcLi Leadership Lab centers on student leadership and helps educators understand the Pedagogy of Leadership. Todd also told me it would help clarify my own leadership goals.
I arrived in Colorado Springs in June 2019. I had no idea how transformative that week would be.
On campus at the Fountain Valley School, I decided to fully engage in the program. I connected early with gcLi faculty and participants from across the country. I learned about neuroscience and child development in ways that reshaped my thinking as an educator. My Lab group, led by Rishi Raghunathan, nicknamed ourselves The Five Vegas Pedestrians (we were ten strong). We collaborated and grew alongside one another throughout the week.
Throughout the Lab, I discovered my purpose. The hands-on activities and small-group role play sessions opened my mind to advancing student leadership in my classroom and school. It felt like gcLi gave me the missing pieces of a puzzle I had long been trying to complete.
I returned to Charlotte Latin and redesigned our advisory program, training the entire seventh grade team to implement the Open Session protocol with students. I also encouraged teachers to amplify student voice both in their classrooms and in broader school life. As faculty members, we became better at listening to our students’ experiences. While there was initial skepticism, over time, we saw a remarkable shift. Students treated one another more respectfully, felt more ownership over their learning, and disciplinary incidents declined significantly.
In 2022, Charlotte Latin promoted me to the newly created role of Assistant Director of Student Leadership Development. The school had leaned further into student leadership as a core value. My department developed initiatives like the Student Athlete Leadership Team (S.A.L.T.) for upper school athletic leaders to mentor teammates. I helped enhance Hawks Quest, an adventure education program for both middle and upper schoolers. Our team also created Lower School Leads with Honor, a leadership program for even the school’s youngest students. The Charlotte Latin community crafted a “Portrait of a Latin Leader”—a document similar to a graduate profile, with the notable distinction that we believed all students, regardless of age, could be leaders.
The most rewarding class I ever taught came during this time: The Seventh Grade Leadership Lab. This elective, which I co-taught with Todd Ballaban, was designed to immerse students in key leadership concepts. We guided them through topics like the power of moments, conducting interviews, public speaking, designing a “Tiny Teach” lesson, and embracing a growth mindset.
The most meaningful student growth occurred during our “problems of practice” challenges. Todd and I identified real issues in the middle school and turned them over to students to solve. With minimal scaffolding and generous timeframes, students worked in small groups to develop actionable solutions. They then presented their proposals to classmates, who collectively decided on a path forward. These problems included questions like: “How should we furnish the new middle school outdoor space?” and “How do we prevent students from tracking mud and debris into the gym by walking on unpaved paths?” Some of these challenges had stumped adults for years, but the students consistently delivered creative, lasting solutions.
In July 2024, I left Charlotte Latin to become the Lower and Middle School Division Head at Commonwealth Academy in Alexandria, Virginia. As many first-year division heads will tell you, it’s a demanding role, but I remain committed to student leadership.
I began by incorporating more teacher agency in program development and daily school life, with the hope that this spirit would carry into classrooms and ultimately empower students as well. It worked. Alongside faculty and our school counselor, we developed lessons on social-emotional learning, cultural competency, kindness, and inclusion.
I also believe deeply in including students in decisions that shape their school experience. I gathered student feedback on midterms and finals, student-teacher relationships, and academic support systems. Based on what they shared, I worked with department chairs, faculty, and administrators to enact significant changes. Teachers supported these shifts because students explained the problems clearly, and often, their experiences mirrored those of the adults. A representative set of students was also asked to have lunch with teaching candidates during our hiring cycle. While they did not get a vote, they provided fantastic feedback that enhanced the confidence administrators had in our hiring decisions. By giving students the chance to drive lasting, positive change at Commonwealth, we built a school that feels more inclusive and student-centered.
Six years after attending the gcLi Leadership Lab, I continue to lean on what I learned there. I am a better educator because of it. By keeping student learning and leadership at the heart of my practice, the schools I’ve served have become better places to learn, grow, and thrive. I am absolutely thrilled to be returning to Colorado Springs as a gcLi Leadership Lab Scholar.
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Tim Creamer, a 2019 Leadership Lab graduate and a 2025 Leadership Lab Scholar, currently serves as Head of Lower and Middle School at Commonwealth Academy, a small independent school in Northern Virginia. Prior to this role, he was the Assistant Director of Student Leadership Development at Charlotte Latin School, a larger TK–12 independent school in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over the course of his career, Tim has also worked as a science teacher, grade-level team leader, head varsity baseball coach, and summer camp director. A strong advocate for student voice, Tim empowers young people to take an active role in shaping their daily experiences and leading meaningful change within their communities.