Kelowna’s FreshGrade Acquired By Higher Ground Education

Kelowna edtech startup FreshGrade has been acquired by Higher Ground Education for an undisclosed sum. Higher Ground has acquired both the FreshGrade tech product and team.

Founded by Lane Merrifield (pictured) and Steve Wandler in 2011, FreshGrade is a digital portfolio and communication tool that gives parents and teachers a transparent view of student progress. Since founding over 18 million portfolios have been created on FreshGrade with 85,000 teachers and 1.8 million parents actively using the platform.

Higher Ground is a leading network of schools dedicated to Montessori education. Along with the acquisition news, the Los Angeles company  announced it has raised a USD $30 million Series D round led by Learn Capital. The round will fund the next phase of Higher Ground’s “Montessori Everywhere” strategy by enabling continued investments in curriculum development, training, technology, and global growth.

Well-suited to both in-person and remote learning environments, FreshGrade captures learning in any form—be it video, audio, tests or quizzes—and delivers it in a newsfeed format familiar to young students. Its ability to track quantitative and qualitative outcomes makes the platform uniquely positioned to support a high-fidelity Montessori learning experience.

“FreshGrade was always built as the answer for people looking for more than what traditional education can offer,” said Lane Merrifield, co-founder and CEO of FreshGrade. “Part of its charm and success is due to its ease of use, but it’s FreshGrade’s ability to capture both qualitative and quantitative learning outcomes that make it a natural fit with a Montessori curriculum. We’re excited to grow the team within Higher Ground and to allow even more families to see the benefits of FreshGrade across North America and the world.”

FreshGrade has raised USD $15.9 Million to date with the most recent financing round a Series B in February 2020 from LEGO Ventures.