Most of us would agree that the best part of our entire lives is our formative and educational years. This is the phase that prepares us for the world and shapes us into the individuals we are today. But for many around the planet, although a human right, education has proved to be more of a privilege. With approximately 10% of the total world population living in conditions of extreme poverty, for many, education is not even an option.
Countering this socio-educational imbalance, one company is on a revolutionary path to provide quality education, anywhere in the world. Spearheaded by founder and CEO Ron Packard, Pansophic Learning is on the mission to lift global education levels by delivering educational solutions wherever they are needed the most and in whatever modality best meets the needs of the community.
Everyone Deserves Quality Education
“Every child should be whatever they want to be in life, regardless of their birthplace or circumstances.” These are the words and vision of Ron Packard. Inspired by a sense of humanity and a desire to help children access better opportunities in life, Pansophic Learning launched operations in 2014.
Pansophic Learning believes that every child should be allowed to choose their future, and for this, every pathway should be made available to them. “We want to provide students with high-quality education choices,” states Ron. To this effect, Pansophic Learning has designed a wide portfolio of education solutions. These include public charter and international private schools in a variety of formats (traditional, virtual, and hybrid). In addition to general education, Pansophic Learning manages specialized schools such as bilingual, early childhood learning, university degree programs, International Baccalaureate, STEM/STEAM, or sports academies based on the needs and desires of the local community.
Today, the global need for quality education coupled with ongoing technology innovation across the world has opened up the ability to reach far more students in every modality. With several operations across the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Pansophic Learning is leading the charge world-over towards quality, personalized, and affordable education for all
“To best serve our schools and customers, I have spent almost half of my days on the road and flown over 5 million miles”
Providing High Caliber Education Solutions
Ron believes in a simple philosophy – “Keep the focus on students, and you will attract the right people and partners to deliver on your promises, and hopefully change the world.”
Pansophic Learning has created education avenues for more than 35,000 children across the globe, right from early childcare to higher education and from online schools to brick and mortar ones. Their mission-driven network of teachers extends to five countries that strive to do right by every child and their family. They are also experts at finding the right facility to meet the needs of each location and that community.
“We take a unique approach to how we select our teams bringing experts to each situation. Flexibility is a key component to ensuring we understand the local culture and local requirements, and then combine those needs with expertise in facilities, instruction, technology, and platforms. Our systems allow us to deliver education in any modality, anywhere in the world.”
Today, Pansophic Learning boasts one of the largest education systems in the world created to help educate students across the spectrum. The company is well-known in the market as an established and expanding network of educational programs serving a diverse group of students and communities.
Educator, Entrepreneur, Visionary
The story of Ron Packard is one that every educator and business entrepreneur is already familiar with. Visionary CEO of one of the foremost technology-based education companies in the world, Ron has always been known to be a front runner towards creating ease of access to education. Never one to back down from a face-to face with community leaders, Ron is always on the move, globetrotting, looking for new avenues to set up new educational initiatives. “To best serve our schools and customers, I have spent almost half of my days on the road and flown over 5 million miles,” he says.
Before establishing Pansophic Learning, Ron was the long-time CEO and Founder of K12 Inc. He oversaw the growth of K12 from just an idea to almost one billion in revenue, making it one of the largest education companies in the world. Before K12, Packard was the Vice President of Knowledge Universe and CEO of Knowledge Schools, one of America’s largest early childhood education companies. He was also instrumental in the successful investments in Learn Now, Children’s School USA, Leapfrog, TEC, and Children’s Discovery Center. Ron also worked for McKinsey & Company and Goldman Sachs in mergers and acquisitions.
Ron has been awarded the Education Industry Association’s James P. Boyle Entrepreneurial Leadership Award, as well as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the IT Services & Solutions category in Greater Washington. More recently, Ron’s bravado in educational innovation received immense praise throughout the nation due to his ability to amp up digital operations and provide education to children amidst the pandemic. This led Ron to be recognized as one of the Top 20 Dynamic CEOs of the United States of 2021.
When he’s not driving global social change, Ron can be seen teeing up and driving on the golf course. He loves spending time with his kids and always welcomes the occasional tennis game with a buddy. Ron is also the author of the highly regarded and reviewed book ‘Education Transformation’ which elucidates why technology is critical to the future of education and the future of our nation’s children.
The Evolution of Pansophic Learning
Pansophic Learning got its inspiration and name from Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius), a Czech philosopher & teacher who led the ‘Pansophic’ movement in the 17th Century. Comenius is considered by many as the father of modern education. His path-breaking ideas and innovative contribution towards shaping the education system are still in practice today.
Ron is inspired by Comenius and his principles that state that education should be available to everyone, regardless of wealth. That education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of gender. And that all human knowledge should be organized into media (such as a textbook) to bring it within the grasp of every child.
Like Comenius, Ron too is on the ingenious path of supporting communities around the world by providing them with easy access to education. Ron and Pansophic Learning have emerged as modern-day pioneers, working towards the upliftment of the most underprivileged communities across the planet by providing them access to education.
The Big Vision
The truth is that we, as a global community, still have a long way to go before concluding that every individual, in every country and community on the planet has been provided the pathway to educational learning that they deserve. “We have a very big vision and we are just scratching the surface.” Though companies like Pansophic Learning have shown us the way, it is the responsibility of every citizen of the world to help raise the education standards of their communities.
Looking ahead, Pansophic Learning remains poised for growth as a company and as a service. “We will soon have growth in all of our business units and the opportunity to serve more students domestically and internationally.”
