MyGlobalClassroom
MyGlobalClassroom was founded in 2002 at Stanford University to provide a free online education to underprivileged children. Our curriculum is available in 22 languages and broadcast via satellite broadband around the globe. We are based in Santa Barbara, California and New York City (on the NYU campus.) To date, we have provided over two million students with a distance learning curriculum aggregated from ten of the world’s most prestigious on-line schools.
Our primary mission has been to take disadvantaged students from poor countries and have them test against advantaged students from affluent countries. Dr. Walter James Miller, our founder, insisted that it was possible to create a program through which we could "wave a magic wand" and within a few short years level the playing field in education worldwide.
In 2010, the year Dr. Miller passed, Dr. Avodah K. Offit of NYU decided to apply this “magic wand theory” to other forms of assistance by seeking out the most horrid living situations and effecting a one-year total transformation. MyGlobalClassroom now assists the most challenged individuals and families with food, housing, medical assistance, transportation, clothing, and school supplies. More often than not, a recent devastating circumstance is brought to our attention on which we act with financial assistance. Since our founding, we have raised and disbursed over $6 million. Every penny donated has been spent helping others; our workers are volunteers, usually leaders in their fields, and our office and operating expenses are donated by corporate sponsors.
When MyGlobalClassroom launched in 2002, distance learning was just developing; e-readers were primitive, and e-books were scarce. Focusing on providing education internationally made sense. But with the current proliferation of on-line education and advancements in technology, we’ve decided to scale back on “big ticket” projects and turn our attention to micro-programs such as our new customized learning centers, and individualized study programs. A one-time minimal investment in the right program will benefit thousands of students annually for years to come.
MyGlobalClassroom runs twelve on-going projects at a time; providing free distance learning is always the first of them. You can now add to that theme-based learning centers in selected elementary schools around the country. To read about our current projects, please visit the Projects link on our webpage. You will see why MyGlobalClassroom lives up to its testimonials.