Higher Ground Education Announces the Acquisition of Tinycare
The leading provider of Montessori education, today announced it has acquired Tinycare, a network of in-home, Montessori-inspired micro-daycare centers that serve infants and toddlers
LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- Higher Ground Education, the leading provider of Montessori education, today announced it has acquired Tinycare, a network of in-home, Montessori-inspired micro-daycare centers that serve infants and toddlers.
Higher Ground owns and operates over 120 Montessori schools through its Guidepost Montessori school network, which serves over 10,000 students from infancy to adolescence in the United States and internationally. In addition to its brick-and-mortar campuses, the company offers a portfolio of in-home offerings, including a virtual school, a homeschooling platform, and in-home “Picco” classrooms that combine the intimacy of a nanny share with the structure, convenience, and developmental expertise of a school classroom. Tinycare began in 2018, looking to reimagine childcare, and has raised $15M in Series A funding from investors.
With this acquisition, Higher Ground is immediately launching a connected school and in-home care dyad at Guidepost Fort Mason in San Francisco. The Picco classroom, in an apartment connected to the Montessori school building, will serve infants and toddlers. The distinct in-home program enables Higher Ground to serve younger students than would otherwise be possible in the school, and the toddlers will be able to matriculate to a pedagogically consistent Montessori preschool and ultimately elementary and middle school.
“Tinycare was founded to reinvent childcare in cities in America with a Montessori inspired micro-daycare model” said Michael Lai, CEO at Tinycare. “We grew 10X during COVID across California and Arizona, and are now thrilled to find a perfect partner to continue to scale our unique model with Higher Ground Education. This acquisition will provide current Tinycare families with access to a more comprehensive and enriching educational experience, and a wider school network.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Tinycare into the Guidepost Montessori community,” said Ray Girn, CEO at Higher Ground. “Our shared values of a Montessori education, of a foundational belief in a child’s capacity for virtue and need for competence, and of a commitment to innovative operational structures for schools make this acquisition a natural fit. These micro-centers will further enable Guidepost to serve more infants and toddlers, in the context of a school network that raises the bar for excellence and that affords families opportunities to continue with differentiated education for longer."
Sean Duffy, CEO of Omada Health and a father with both of his children in Tinycare, said: said: “sending my children to Tinycare is one of the best decisions I have made. I love their quality care, the world class teachers they are able to attract, and their low ratio micro center model. My older daughter has been thriving, and as a result when we had our boy the first thing we did was sign him up for Tinycare. I’m excited the acquisition will lead to expanding their model and more Montessori expertise for children and our families.”
For more information on Higher Ground Education, please visit tohigherground.com. For more information on the Fort Mason program, visit guidepostmontessori.com/schools/fort-mason-san-francisco-ca.
About Higher Ground Education: Higher Ground Education’s mission is to mainstream and modernize the international Montessori movement. Serving over 10,000 students in over 120 Montessori schools, Higher Ground is dedicated to nurturing independence in children while providing a transformative educational experience that equips them with the skills and values needed to thrive in the 21st century.
About Tinycare: Founded in 2018 and backed by a diverse network of top investors, Tinycare’s mission is to rebuild the childcare system from the ground up with a network of micro-centers that empowers teachers, partners with families, and helps children thrive.