"Leadership is Service:" Christian Garris '05 as Head of School at Nativity Prep 

"I've been in school my entire life," jokes Christian Garris '05 reflecting on his personal and professional journey as an educator. 
 
Now Head of School at Nativity Preparatory School in New Bedford, Garris espouses a genuine love of learning and respect for the environments that have shaped him. 

"Part of the reason I love education is because I've had such a good education. As a kindergartner I remember being fascinated with the idea of running a school, I would go home from school and make up homework assignments for myself, I would set up classrooms before I even knew how to write," says Garris. 
 
Raised in New Bedford, Garris attended New Bedford public schools, then Tabor Academy and Amherst College. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education for Educational Leadership.  
 
After three years teaching middle school in the New Bedford Public School System, Garris served for four years at Tabor Academy as Associate Director of Admissions and Multicultural Outreach and Chair of the Faculty Affairs Advisory Committee. At the Thacher School in Ojai, CA, he was named Director of Multicultural Outreach and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. His path brought him home to New Bedford in 2024 with his wife and two young children. 
 
Garris credits his passion and drive to the teachers he knew along the way. "My teachers knew me well and I was excited to perform at a high level. At Tabor I had a great advisor, dorm parent, teachers, and coaches and I remember the impact they had on me. It's the reason I knew early on that I wanted to be a Head of School. I wanted the opportunity to have the same impact." 
 
One of those teachers was Gerry Dineen, a faculty member in Tabor's Math and Computer Science department, who remembers Garris's innate ability to uplift and bring out the best in others. 

"Christian’s ability to connect with both students and adults made him a natural leader, fostering a supportive, safe, and engaged community where students felt valued and empowered. Now, as Head of School at Nativity Prep, Christian continues to inspire and guide young people, helping them see the possibilities ahead," says Dineen. 

As Head of School, Garris draws on his multitude of experiences to inform his understanding of the current educational climate and references the lasting impact of COVID-19 and the advent of AI technology in the classroom. 
 
"We're seeing a lot of gaps in learning due to the COVID-19 era, students are disoriented, and the reality is that we need to reset our expectations of what learning looks like. A lot of education now is less about delivering content, but about how we engage students with the content. There's also a new generation of teachers that need to adapt and meet the students where they are, and we need to make sure that faculty feel supported in that new system as well," remarks Garris. 

Garris' sense of empathy for the challenges students, faculty and families are facing comes naturally and he uses it purposefully, hoping to demonstrate and instill elements of joy, balance, and hard work. 
 
"Having a sense of empathy informs how you show up for people and for yourself. I'm responsible for my students, interactions with their families, and my employees who rely on me. I think a lot about how to balance all of those things and create a joyful environment where we can work hard and celebrate our successes," Garris says. 
 
"It really starts with something that was instilled in me at Tabor. When I got to Tabor, I was challenged, I worked harder than I'd ever worked before, and I learned the value of that hard work. Those four years really taught me that you have to put in that extra effort to achieve success. But I had fun too ... school should be fun and I hope the students and faculty at Nativity Prep have both the desire to work hard and the ability to find the joy in their work." 

Tabor's mission, calling on students and community members to "connect, serve and lead" resonates with Garris in new ways as a seasoned educator and he encourages Tabor students today to find their own unique ways to embrace those objectives.  
 
"The 'connect' piece is something I didn't realize would be as important as it is. Tabor really brings the world to you. To be able to sit in a dorm room with someone from China or New York, that was just as important as what we learned in the classroom. When I think back on the connections I made at Tabor, you never know how they'll come back; my best friend is someone I met on my first day freshman year." 
 
For Garris, serving and leading are interconnected. "Leadership is service. As a leader, if you're doing it right, you are choosing the path of giving back to the people in your community. I learned that as a faculty member at Tabor." 
 
"If you are a student at Tabor, you definitely have leadership ability. Whether it's in the classroom, on the court, on the stage ... to the 7-year-old watching, to the 37-year-old alum, or the 67-year-old donor, you are leaders. Use your creativity, your talents, and your time to serve others with your leadership."

Christian encourages any Tabor alumni interested in catching up and learning more about Nativity Prep to contact him at: cgarris@nativitynb.org or 508-994-3800.