News

SC Educator Joins American Montessori Sociey Board of Directors

January 26, 2010

Dr. Ginny Riga, Montessori coordinator in the South Carolina Department of Education’s Office of Public School Choice, has joined the board of directors for the American Montessori Society.
 
The society, founded in 1960 and headquartered in New York City, is a non-profit service organization that encourages and supports the use of the Montessori teaching approach in public and private schools. It has 11,000 members across the world including educators and other individuals, teacher education programs and schools.
 
“I am very honored and humbled to be asked to be on the board,” Riga said. “I believe that I am the first public school representative to serve in this role, and the organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.”
 
Riga came to the state’s Office of Public School Choice early in 2008 after serving as Montessori coordinator for Richland School District One. For five years she was principal at Brockman Elementary, the Midlands' only public Montessori school and a Richland One school of choice.
 
In her role as state coordinator, Riga supports teacher recruitment and training for existing Montessori programs, in addition to helping new programs with planning and implementation. South Carolina was the first state in the nation to develop a strong, working alliance of leaders in public and private Montessori programs.
 
Riga called the Montessori method “education for life” and said its hands-on, discovery approach to learning allows students to work at their own pace and experience a high rate of success.  She received her program training at Lander University in 1999-2000.
 
Riga previously was a board member for Montessori Educational Programs International and served as treasurer for the state’s Montessori Alliance. She is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, earned a master’s degree from Hofstra University and has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina.  Riga taught at schools in New York and in Georgia before joining the Richland One staff in 1978.