RUPAL ARORA

Director, Maple Bear Learning Place

(In her 40's)

 

 

Her story (as shared by her nominator)

Rupal is an Educational Leader with strong experience in P&L, product strategy and management, international education, operations, global marketing and execution. She is an expert in early childhood education, with more than two decades of experience. She has managed a USD $16 million IB programme, implemented in over 1,500 schools (109 countries) and developed an extension in the early year’s segment.

 

One of her major achievements is for Odyssey: The Global Preschool, where she was not only responsible in increasing the number of students from 30 to 170, but also where she pioneered sustainable practices, went on to win the EDCA award and achieved SPARKS accreditation in record time.

 

Rupal started lecturing with NIEC in 2018. “Through lecturing, I can share my experiences and learnings

in my 20+ years of journey in this industry,” says Rupal.

 

She is currently the Director of Maple Bear West Coast, a preschool which uses Canadian methodology refined for Singapore. The programs here encourages children to create, explore and discover, with opportunities to develop their social, emotional, motor, language and cultural skills.

 

Rupal practices mindful yoga and reading in her spare time. She volunteers at KIDSTART, a pilot programme for low-income and vulnerable young children, an initiative driven by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) in Singapore.

 

People who have worked with Rupal have seen her passion and dedication towards early childhood education. She is constantly adding enriched experiences to make children's learning not just fun but also meaningful. Also a passionate environmentalist at heart, she is building a culture of environmental love by using recycled materials throughout the school and encourages children's sensitivity towards environment through the same. She is an example of truly practicing what she preaches.

 

In her words:

Greatest achievement

Deciding to take the risk at 45 years by opening my own preschool after selling my home!

 

Biggest challenge thus far

As a woman, I overcame being retrenched from an International Education organisation after 4 years of service and starting on my own after presenting my proposal to my in laws!

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