NewSchool Learning

NewSchool Learning (commonly abbreviated NSL) was an American educational technology company based in Granger, Indiana, specializing in the design of custom visual themes for Moodle, the Open-source learning management system. Founded in 2007 by Patrick Malley, the company grew into an internationally recognized Moodle Partner, producing nearly 1,000 custom themes for clients worldwide before closing in December 2015.

Background

NewSchool Learning was founded in 2007 by Patrick Malley, a Michigan-born educator who described himself as wanting to "justify his obsession with untangling Moodle code." Malley had been designing websites for over ten years before formalizing the business. The company was incorporated as NewSchool Inc., with Malley serving as Founder, President, and CEO from 2007 through 2015.

The company operated under the domain newschoollearning.com and maintained a GitHub presence where Malley (username: ptrkmkl) forked and mirrored the official Moodle repository to support theme development.

NewSchool Learning was recognized as a certified Moodle Partner — a designation awarded by Moodle HQ to organizations that meet quality standards for Moodle-related products and services.

Products and services

The company's primary offering was the design and development of custom visual themes for Moodle installations. NSL became well known in the Moodle community for demonstrating that the platform's default appearance could be replaced with polished, professional designs — captured by the phrase, "Moodle doesn't have to look like a Moodle."

NSL offered two categories of products:

• Custom paid themes — fully bespoke designs created to match a client's institutional branding and requirements.
• Free themes — a publicly available catalog of no-cost themes. Popular offerings included Afterburner, Beauty, Elegance, Parchment, and Superfresh, spanning both Moodle 1.9 and later platform versions.

A portfolio of completed client work was maintained at newschoollearning.com/folio/. Over nine years of operation, the company produced just under 1,000 custom themes for clients across the globe.

Operations

NewSchool Learning's core team consisted of three members. Malley handled strategic direction and finances, while John Stabinger served as Lead Designer and Developer, managing the technical and creative output. A third team member, Olivia, handled incoming client correspondence and coordinated between Malley and Stabinger to ensure quality delivery.

As Malley's administrative career deepened over the early 2010s, Stabinger took on increasing day-to-day operational responsibility, keeping the company running while Malley focused on his school leadership roles.

Closure

NewSchool Learning ceased operations in December 2015. Malley publicly announced the closure in a blog post on January 22, 2016, citing a sustained collapse in revenue — approximately 50% year-over-year for three consecutive years — which caused expenses to exceed income in the company's final quarter. Malley wrote that he could not identify a precise cause for the decline, attributing it in part to his own growing distance from the Moodle community, and credited Stabinger with keeping the company operational during those years.

Successor

Following the closure of NewSchool Learning, Stabinger continued related work through a successor entity, Newschool Themes, which carried on Moodle theme design and identified its team as having "gained invaluable experience working with the former Moodle Partners, Newschool Learning."

Patrick Malley

Patrick Malley is a Michigan public school administrator and educational technologist with over two decades of experience in K–12 education. He is currently Superintendent of Haslett Public Schools in Haslett, Michigan, a position he has held since July 2024.

Education

Malley has also been recognized as a Google GSV Education Innovation Fellow and a Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) Gerstacker Fellow.

Career

Malley's professional career overlapped with his operation of NewSchool Learning for most of the company's existence. The timeline below reflects both roles running concurrently.

2003–2007: Early teaching and web design

After earning his teaching certificate from Grand Valley State University in 2005, Malley joined Freedom High School as a History and AP Psychology Teacher. During this period he was also designing websites independently, work that would lead directly to the founding of NewSchool Learning in 2007.

2007–2011: Teacher, Moodle Theme Manager, and NSL Founder & CEO

While still a full-time History and AP Psychology Teacher at Freedom High School, Malley launched NewSchool Learning in 2007, serving as its Founder, President, and CEO. From 2009 to 2011, he also served concurrently as Theme Manager for Moodle — a role that deepened his technical expertise and raised the company's profile in the Moodle community. During this phase, NSL grew rapidly and established itself as a leading Moodle design firm, with Malley handling strategy, client relationships, and finances alongside his classroom duties.

2011–2015: School Administrator and NSL CEO (declining)

In 2011, Malley transitioned out of the classroom to become New Tech Director at Freedom High School. He subsequently founded and led the Niles New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy, a project-based learning school modeled on the New Tech Network. He then moved to Niles Community Schools as Director of Technology. Throughout this period Malley continued in his role as Founder, President, and CEO of NewSchool Learning, though increasing administrative demands led him to delegate more operational responsibility to lead developer John Stabinger. NSL's revenue began declining around 2012–2013, falling approximately 50% per year, ultimately leading to the company's closure in December 2015.

2015–2019: Principal and Assistant Superintendent, Meridian Public Schools

Following the closure of NewSchool Learning, Malley joined Meridian Public Schools in Sanford, Michigan, first as Principal and later as Assistant Superintendent. In the latter role he was responsible for district-wide professional learning, support staff contracts, and communications strategy. During this period, he helped reverse a decade-long enrollment decline and contributed to raising first-year college completion rates from 35% to 80%.

2019–2024: Chief Academic Officer, Bay City Public Schools

In 2019, Malley was appointed Chief Academic Officer of Bay City Public Schools, functioning in a deputy superintendent capacity. In this role he oversaw academic programs, curriculum and instruction, professional development, grants management, principal evaluation, technology integration, and assessments. He expanded postsecondary opportunities for underrepresented high school students and led initiatives that increased K–3 reading proficiency by 6%.

2024–present: Superintendent, Haslett Public Schools

Following a national search, the Haslett Public Schools Board of Education selected Malley as Superintendent in May 2024. He assumed the position on July 1, 2024, succeeding retiring superintendent Steve Cook. He has managed multi-million dollar district budgets and led successful bond campaigns, and is an active member of the Haslett-Okemos Rotary club.

Philosophy

Malley's educational philosophy holds that schools are deliberately designed systems, and that poor student outcomes demand a critical examination of that design rather than attribution to external factors alone. In his own words: "Schools are designed to achieve their current outcomes. When students need to reach higher levels of success, schools must adapt to meet those emerging needs." He emphasizes direct community engagement — including conversations with students, families, and local business leaders — as foundational to any meaningful school redesign effort.

External links

• Patrick Malley's personal and professional website
• Malley's superintendent page at Haslett Public Schools
• Newschool Themes (successor company)