Michael Gwaltney

I am an educator, speaker, writer, and experienced school leader.

My current role is as a Consultant with Independent School Management inc. (ISM), Head of ISM’s Academic Leadership Consulting department, and ISM’s Director of Online Learning.

I worked in private-independent schools from 1990-2020, and since summer 2020, I’ve been consulting with schools, coaching school leaders, and leading workshops on various topics related to school leadership. Areas of expertise for me include leadership and management, curriculum, assessment and instruction, including school-wide strategic planning and transformative academic leadership. I have facilitated scores of workshops for school leaders and managers, and have coached hundreds of administrators in independent schools.

In my years as a teacher, I taught courses in history and government in student-centered ways. People know me for “alternative,” authentic approaches to assessment—thinking like an assessor about what students know and can do—and for my progressive approaches to teaching, including project-based and inquiry-based learning, and for my work in online and distance learning. Occasionally I write about curriculum, assessment, and instruction in the humanities, and I lead workshops on how to build mission-/values-based coursework that students love.

I was one of the pioneers in student-centered K-12 online / distance learning when I began “blending” my brick-and-mortar classes using online discussions and blog posts way back in 2001. Since then, I have focused on developing constructivist learning experiences that connect students to each other online, and face-to-face, in highly collaborative, real world learning. From 2010-2014, I taught high school social science and professional development courses for the Online School for Girls as one of the inaugural-year teachers. In 2011, I assisted in the first-ever accreditation of a private-independent, student-centered, fully online school. In 2011, I was the keynote speaker and workshop leader for the 2011 California Association of Independent Schools’s annual day of Professional Development on Blended/Online Learning. From 2013-2017, I led the development of the award-winning program in Portland, Oregon called “American Story,” a blended/online learning experience for students in the city’s private-independent schools. I completed a Masters focused on Constructivist / Progressive, Student-Centered Distance Learning in 2016.

I have worked with schools and organizations all over the world, and have presented at major international, national and regional conferences. I have received numerous teaching awards, including recognition as “Most Inspirational Teacher” by the Mayor of Los Angeles six times. My work has been featured on National Public Radio, Edutopia, and in several books about 21st Century teaching/learning and project-based learning.

I have been honored to serve on some Boards, including most recently for the Independent Curriculum Group. I have volunteered extensively for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and other civic organizations. I am passionate about engaged citizenship, and write about it from time to time. I am a hobbyist photographer, and spend other free time hiking and backpacking, playing tennis, and watching Liverpool F.C.