Check out this school’s flexible learning spaces!

RD American School (RDAS) is Singapore’s newest American international school, welcoming its first elementary students on 20 January 2026. Middle school opens in August 2026, with high school to follow. Here, Founding Principal ERICA SMELTZER shares how the school’s flexible spaces are designed to support creative learning for international students.

At RDAS, our students are active learners – questioning, analysing, building and refining ideas together.

In the Visual Thinking Lab, children tackle complex Math problems by sketching strategies across expansive whiteboard walls. Explaining their reasoning aloud strengthens understanding and builds metacognitive awareness.

In The Collider, the school’s innovation hub, students apply classroom learning to authentic challenges – sustainability, clean water, community design. Through inquiry and project-based learning, they collaborate, prototype, test and revise, receiving meaningful feedback that strengthens both skill and character.

Older students, meanwhile, bring ambitious ideas to life in The Transformer, a learning space equipped for engineering and design. Here, bold experimentation is encouraged. Students construct machines, explore systems thinking, and experience the productive struggle that leads to deep and durable learning.

Learning spaces that encourage expression and build confidence

The Black Box is a presentation studio where students share projects, receive feedback and refine their thinking. Frequent low-stakes performance opportunities strengthen communication skills and reinforce learning through retrieval and reflection.

At the heart of campus is the Community Plaza, where the school gathers each morning. A child may share observations from nature, a personal reflection or a new idea sparked in class. These moments nurture voice, empathy and belonging, all of which are core values of the RDAS community.

Across these spaces, international students practice explaining their thinking, responding to feedback and revising their work, developing resilience alongside academic skills.

Learning spaces for movement and exploration

Brain research shows that movement, reflection and varied environments strengthen memory and engagement. At the Cognition Circle, learning is embodied. Students explore geometry through motion or reenact historical turning points – experiencing concepts rather than merely hearing about them.

In the Story Lab and Learning Commons, ideas take shape through writing, discussion and creative construction. Students build projects inspired by literature and connect language learning to authentic expression.

The Reflective Cave offers a calm space for emotional learning. Here, students pause, reflect and develop the self-awareness and self-regulation essential for lifelong success. Social-emotional learning is woven into daily routines, not treated as an add-on.

Learning without fixed classrooms

Children learn in different ways. Instead of fixed classrooms, RDAS features interconnected learning zones, which serve as flexible, intentionally designed environments that function as a “third teacher”.

This design supports collaboration, independence, and adaptability – skills increasingly essential in modern workplaces and universities.

However, teachers control students’ movement between learning spaces and carefully select the environments that they will use for specific learning tasks. Children are carefully supervised, and like in any classroom or learning environment, their creative learning experiences are carefully curated and guided.

For children who prefer a traditional setup, traditional tables and seating options are available throughout the campus whenever students need focused, conventional workspaces.

Most students benefit from varied learning positions, sometimes choosing flexible seating, sometimes preferring a table and chair. The goal is not novelty; it is helping students understand how they learn best and take ownership of that process.

Many contemporary workplaces resemble these learning environments more than traditional classrooms – project-driven and adaptable.

Preparing students for a changing world

Rooted in the science of learning and inspired by its partnership with Riverdale Country School in New York, RDAS offers a transformational, student-centred education designed to help children learn how to learn and thrive in a rapidly changing world.

RDAS balances creativity with rigour. High expectations are paired with high support; students are challenged but never left unsupported. Through inquiry, collaboration, reflection and evidence-based strategies such as spaced retrieval practice, learning becomes lasting.

The school prepares students not only to succeed in school, but to thrive beyond it.

See creative learning in action at RD American School

Keen to tour the school’s flexible campus and meet the educators? Enquire by email at admissions@rdas.edu.sg or call 9781 9688.

3 Changi Business Park
rdas.edu.sg

Find out more about RD American School here, incuding what brought the Founding Principal of RDAS to Singapore. To make the most of living in Singapore, check out our latest City Guide here for free!