His Story
Teaching was a second career for Michael Dunlea. After years in hospitality management he was successful but not happy. Watching his wife’s work as a social worker and volunteering at his own children’s school made him want a career with purpose, and a teacher who saw him with the children on a field trip suggested he consider education. He earned a bachelor’s in history from Thomas Edison State College in 2002, a master’s in educational technology from New Jersey City University in 2008, and a master’s in teacher leadership from Mount Holyoke College in 2020, and he is a National Board Certified Teacher.
He began in 2003 in a pre-K classroom, then spent 13 years teaching 2nd grade at Stafford Township’s Ocean Acres Elementary, before moving to Tabernacle Township in 2017 to teach 5th grade. His former principal says his classroom was a place where students felt safe to share ideas and take risks, and a former superintendent says he “maintains communication each year with every single student he has ever taught.” He was Ocean County Teacher of the Year in 2011, Burlington County Teacher of the Year in 2020, a New Jersey State Teacher of the Year finalist in 2012 and 2020, and a 2018 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. In 2020 he was one of the top 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize.
Beyond the Classroom
After Hurricane Sandy damaged more than 4,000 homes in Stafford Township, Dunlea founded S.T.A.R.T. (Stafford Teachers and Residents Together), a volunteer group that organized cleanup crews and donations. It saved homeowners an estimated $3 million, helped students and colleagues find safe housing so school could resume, and drew volunteers from as far as California. He received the 2012 Humanitarian of the Year Award and was recognized by the governor. He later served as president of the Alliance for a Living Ocean, which runs beach cleanups and seining programs for schoolchildren on Long Beach Island.
With fellow inductee Dr. Melissa Collins (2020), he co-designed and led an international teacher fellowship with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year and Empatico that connected classrooms in 24 states and three countries through virtual exchanges. He also lobbied in Washington, D.C., for teacher leadership in federal education law, served on the Jefferson Education Exchange EdTech Genome Project steering committee and presented its findings at SXSW, and led National Board webinars for teachers during the pandemic. He was a contributing author to Collins’s book on teacher leadership.
Philosophy Into Practice
Dunlea’s students choose where they sit, whom they work with, and which book he reads aloud next, voting by Google Form. His classroom has featured a beach umbrella and a cozy reading nook, and parents recall dress-up days when a student arrived as Abraham Lincoln and another as the Lorax. He uses student perception surveys, which he developed as a fellow with America Achieves, and a social survey that shows him which students are not being chosen by classmates so he can build connections for them.
When district data showed students struggling with 5th-grade fractions, he went back and retaught the 3rd- and 4th-grade concepts, and the class average rose 43 points over the year. After a class guessed that the world has “two” languages, he pursued global-education training as an NEA Global Fellow, and his students ended the year knowing of more than 7,000 living languages. His class pen pals with a classroom in Memphis, Tennessee, and the grant-funded visits that let students meet in person, were featured on NBC Nightly News in 2020.
“Students need to see the world as their classroom, to engage with it deeply, and to contribute to it meaningfully.”Michael Dunlea
In His Own Words
“My teaching philosophy is centered on uplifting each child.”Michael Dunlea
“A teacher’s voice becomes part of their students’ inner monologues over the course of a school year, so the words and tone we use must be affirming and challenging to equip our students with the courage to take risks.”Michael Dunlea
“Establish community among your students first, and gradually expand outward.”Michael Dunlea, advice to new teachers
What Others Said
“He has a rare talent for drawing out the best in his students, inspiring them to believe in their capabilities and embrace their unique qualities.”Susan Grosser, former principal, Kenneth R. Olson Middle School
“Michael Dunlea maintains communication each year with every single student he has ever taught in his 21+ years in the classroom.”Glenn Robbins, superintendent of schools
“Michael is a teacher leader who creatively integrates the community into the classroom through a variety of activities.”Dr. Melissa Collins, colleague and fellow inductee
“Mr. Dunlea was the first teacher who made me dream of teaching.”Sam Westpy, former student