Join us in celebrating our 2019 Choice Leader of Excellence, Dr. Alan Carter

Laura Moellering, Dr. Alan Carter, Sarah Wildey

We are proud to announce that Dr. Alan Carter, Headmaster at Creative Montessori Academy, has been named Choice’s Leader of Excellence.

Dr. Carter is in his seventh year at Creative Montessori Academy and his second year as the Headmaster. He is a graduate of Liberty University (B.S.), University of Alabama (M.Ed.) and Western Michigan (Ph.D.). He has been in education since 1999 and moved to Southgate, MI in 2012 to be part of Creative Montessori’s community. 

Working hard to be a servant leader to his school community, he has accomplished great milestones over the past year, including spending time actively listening to issues and problems that arise, finding ways to support and fixing them. He has initiated free morning latchkey, push-in support for SPED and Title 1 students and offering professional development for his staff. 

“CMA has faced a lot of change in the last two and a half years and more changes are coming as our program answers our community’s need for a safe, creative environment to learn and grow. Our most recent project is partnering with MSU for a gifted and talented program that has been sought after for some time now,” Dr. Alan Carter said. 

He also leads through promoting ownership among his staff, students and community members for school efforts. 

One of Dr. Carter’s recent examples of this was changing the SIP team to the School Improvement Leadership Team where guardians, parents and administration come together to discuss the current state and the school’s goals.

Parents, staff and students have also been encouraged to take initiative to start a club, pursue a fun night, or celebrate a special day., including the creation of the robotics club, sock drive, school supply drive and the gaga pit.

“It has been incredible to see the results coming out of our students, parents and community as we empower them to be innovative and creative to make us a better school community,” Dr. Carter said.

Nominations for Choice’s Leader of Excellence were completed through peer nominations and self-assessment questionnaires. Other Choice school leaders nominated who they thought deserved the award based on the following criteria: 

  • Someone who models values, beliefs, and attitudes that inspire students and staff to higher levels of performance. 
  • Someone who aspires to do better and that best fulfills the mission and vision of Choice Schools and their school. 
  • Someone who is a data-focused, collaborative and servant leader.

After the nominations were set, fellow school leaders voted on who deserved the award according to everything in the profile. This included test scores, retention numbers, years of service and enrollment.

We are thankful for Dr. Carter’s commitment and belief that every student matters. He is so deserving of this award!