South Carolina Hires Virginia Riga As Montessori Advocate

South Carolina has apparently become the first state to hire an advocate for Montessori education.

Virginia Riga began work Feb. 25 as a member of a team of consultants in the Office of School Choice.

Her assignments are still being developed, but she will help districts that choose to start public Montessori programs and will work to expand Montessori teacher education opportunities in the state.

The position is part of an initiative by James H. Rex, South Carolina’s Superintendent of Education, to expand choice throughout the state. Another consultant in the department is providing leadership on single-gender schools. Rex has proposed that the state legislature require all the state’s 85 districts to offer school choice.

South Carolina has long been a leader in supporting public Montessori programs, in part because of support from the South Carolina-based Self Foundation. Several district offer public Montessori programs including at least two with infant-toddler programs. Laurens County School District No. 55 has more than 1,000 students in a half dozen buildings in public programs going through middle school.

“We were stunned, thrilled, when the position was created,” Riga said, speaking for herself and fellow Montessori educators. “It is a way to promote and validate Montessori education. It will give people in the state who want to start programs someone to turn to at the state level.”

She said she hopes to “give support to districts that have public Montessori so it can grow and to help people who have heard of school choice and may or may not have heard of Montessori.”

Riga, a former district Montessori coordinator, was principal of the public Montessori at Brockman Elementary School in Columbia for five years. She took Montessori training at Lander University.

Her doctoral dissertation looked at educational change. She’s said she’s seen public Montessori programs thrive. She has also seen them die when a new principal or superintendent takes over. Among the lessons she says she’s learned are that public programs need adequate planning time, wide buy-in from constituents and strong, continuing administrative support.