Montessori learning has 100 years of refinement and validation behind it. Yet, fewer than one percent of students worldwide are in what Ray Girn, CEO of Higher Ground Education, would consider an “authentic, high-fidelity Montessori program.”

“Our goal is to build the systems of scale that allow for uncompromisingly good Montessori education that's accessible to the children of the world,” explains Girn.

Higher Ground’s global Montessori ecosystem includes 75 schools, a virtual school, a system for finding local Montessori-trained nannies and resources to support new parents and homeschoolers. All designed to take Montessori learning from fragmented to mainstream and modernized, the ultimate goal is to bring Montessori education to far more parents and children.

The pandemic could have halted that work, but Girn and his team leaned in, finding ways to support families and continue to grow Higher Ground.

EdSurge talked with Girn to understand how acquisitions and adaptations, combined with unwavering support and sage advice from investors, helped them thrive during a challenging season.

Girn: Our goal is to build the systems of scale that make uncompromisingly good Montessori education accessible to the world’s children. That means identifying why so few children are in authentic Montessori programs and creating paths to change that.

Because ours is an alternative ecosystem, and we develop meaningful skills, I think that there is an opportunity to achieve what ride-sharing apps or Airbnb have achieved: show the world another way of doing education at a sufficient scale. In doing so, we hope to inspire and empower the many others working towards meaningful education reform.

I don't see us single-handedly changing education, but I think we have a real opportunity to be part of the pioneering few who launch that change and help it ultimately take hold.

Read the full article about  Montessori learning innovations by Wendy McMahon at EdSurge.