Mary Jo Fairhead

Founder & Director of Onward Learning

Mary Jo Fairhead is the Founder of Onward Learning, a K-8 micro school in Martin, South Dakota near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She has been an educator and mentor of all ages as a coach, teacher, and principal. Mary Jo witnessed firsthand how an educational system can extinguish curiosity and confidence by forcing all children to fit into one box without reverence for each child’s unique talents, interests, and needs. She has observed this as the norm in mainstream education and thus she believes there has never been a more vital time to prioritize our children’s future than now!