Josh Elder

"Albert Einstein once said education is what remains after one has forgotten what one had learned in school. I believe that the role of education in our society is to prepare students to be successful in life- not just prepared for a test. The future is unknown for our students, but we as Pioneer Academies can equip our students with critical thinking skills and a passion for learning that will allow them to choose their own successful paths in their futures."

Josh is one of the co-founders of Pioneer Academies as well as the Chief Academic Officer. Pioneer Academies is a new network of low cost private schools based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to working at Pioneer, Josh was a science teacher and instructional development coordinator at LEAP Science and Maths School based in Cape Town, South Africa. He had the opportunity to lead the design of the science curriculum and the project based learning approach. In addition, he was the manager of LEAP's Global Teacher Institute. Before moving to South Africa, Josh was a science teacher in the USA with KIPP Philadelphia Charter School and a public school in Richmond, Virginia. Josh holds a Masters of Education Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelors of Science with Majors in Education, Science, and History from Longwood University.