Accreditation:
Higher Ground's mission is to modernize the global Montessori movement, empowering educators to help children realize their potential. We provide our students with training and tools to assist schools in creating Montessori environments and support parents in meeting their children's holistic needs. Our vision is Montessori everywhere, offering an end-to-end experience from birth through secondary education, enabled by next-gen, accredited instruction.
Dean
Joel Mendes
I’m a Montessori educator who has worked with students from birth to adulthood, helping humans find and create their own pathways and applying Montessori’s principles to my role as a dad, a youth soccer coach, a trainer, a manager, and a team leader.
Academic board members
Matt Bateman
Matt Bateman earned his bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 2004. While there, he worked in the Child Development Center researching the nature of early personality development in children. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 2012 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied the history of thought in philosophy and psychology, as well as conducting research in cognitive science.
He taught and continued his research at Franklin and Marshall College in the Department of Psychology, on topics ranging from neuroscience to evolutionary theory to philosophy.
Dr. Bateman left his academic position in 2014 to join LePort Schools as Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy. There, he oversaw research and development of the school’s approach to education.
In 2016, Dr. Bateman became a founding member of Higher Ground as the Director of Content, where he is responsible for intellectual and pedagogical oversight across the organization. He is now Vice President of Pedagogy.
Dr. Bateman works closely with people across the organization, ensuring depth, quality, and consistency across curricular development projects, training, educational technology partnerships, and even strategic growth and messaging. He is closely involved with the development of new programming, such as language immersion and high school. And he acts as a key representative of Higher Ground’s educational philosophy, writing position papers, engaging with researchers, giving lectures, and engaging with the larger educational community.
Han Zhang
VP of Operations at Higher Ground Education.
Leading the global operations of Prepared Montessorian Institute, a professional development platform and teacher education institute for parents, educators and school leaders to understand and execute the Montessori method. Responsible for designing and implementing core operational processes to optimize efficiency and customer experience.
https://preparedmontessorian.com/
Faculty, Instructors and Professional Experts
Mariana Serralde
Montessori Mentor at Higher Ground Education.
Ana Amiguet
Experienced curriculum designer and facilitator with a proven track record of driving best practices for organizational success. Skilled in content and resource development, coaching, and facilitation, with a focus on cross-departmental integration and collaboration. Able to build end-to-end strategic programs from vision to scale, and to institute ongoing learning communities and skill-building programs. Strong relationship-builder who mentors and collaborates with leadership and stakeholders to support healthy change.
Han Zhang
VP of Operations at Higher Ground Education.
Leading the global operations of Prepared Montessorian Institute, a professional development platform and teacher education institute for parents, educators and school leaders to understand and execute the Montessori method. Responsible for designing and implementing core operational processes to optimize efficiency and customer experience.
https://preparedmontessorian.com/