Margo Guilott

• Authentic Education
• Company
• Staff
• Our Mission
• Four Beliefs

• Our Consultants
• Grant Wiggins
• Denise Wilbur
• Diane Van Ausdall
• Frank Champine
• Seonaid Davis
• Teresa Dempsey
• Julie DesOrmeaux
• Margo Guilott
• Andy Greene
• Judith Hilton
• Everett Kline
• Hilde McGeehan
• Kathleen Zeiss

Maria C. "Margo" Guilott has been an educator for over 36 years. She received a Masters degree and a Ph.D. from Tulane University and has been a classroom teacher from second grade to the college level, a district Supervisor of Instruction and, most recently, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Also, Margo was selected PTA Educator of Distinction, Co-Chair of the Louisiana Quincentenary Commission, and the only K-12 educator on Louisiana's Workforce Commission for 10 years.

As the author of many programs designed to serve as safety nets for at-risk students, she understands the need to make learning authentic for all children. In a district of 35,000 students and 3,000 teachers, she committed to effect systemic changes, directing the writing of curriculum using the Understanding by Design framework, in partnership with Authentic Education. The product is on-line, accessible, user friendly and easily modified. Everyone in the district calls it a "living document" because there are weekly uploads for improvement. The rollout was to take place in August of 2005, the same month the district suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. However, despite the temporary setback, under her leadership, the district proceeded with implementation, and the UbD concept is now embedded in the culture of the district. Margo is currently a visiting assistant professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she is directing their Leadership Institute.

Areas of expertise:

• District wide curriculum planning and implementation using UbD as the framework
• Taking the written curriculum into the classroom
• Coaching the change toward authentic learning that leads to understanding
• Strategic Planning

Margo is also a native Spanish speaker, equally comfortable presenting in English or Spanish.