Areena Loo – Executive Director

Areena Loo (Ms) is the Founder and Executive Director of Bridge Learning, one of Singapore’s first and largest One-Stop Diagnostic Learning Support and Specialised Intervention Centre for mainstream children with Learning, Behavioural, Social-Communication and Emotional Needs.

Prior to the compelling call to Bridge Learning, she was with the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore as a qualified schoolteacher, a certified Teacher Counsellor and a trained Learning Support Coordinator. With a striking portfolio of being the assessor and manager of a vast range of emotional, behavioural and learning challenges under her, she is inevitably adept with screening and assessment methodologies, case consultation, management and intervention works.

She has worked directly with mainstream students who have learning difficulties and Specific Learning Difficulties (SLDs). Her track record of working with these learners has been impressively successful. Her eclectic approach towards teaching and intervention has not only made her an effective educator but also a popular one with her students.

Considering the conspicuous gap for more affordable and quality specialised services for children with learning difficulties and Learning Disabilities in Singapore, she visited a wide spectrum of educational institutions in several countries such as Australia, United States and Taiwan for research and interviews. For her to witness many young lives being mislabelled and misunderstood as “naughty”, “stupid”, “lazy”, “hopeless” or as having Learning Disabilities (LDs) but not receiving any practical help, was especially frustrating.

Her deep convictions for the abilities of learners who learn differently and a burning passion to integrate them into the mainstream system has led her to set up Bridge Learning in year 2003. She believes firmly that Singaporeans can rise up to be on par and surpass our foreign counterparts in this specialised field.

Presently, she is more involved with Diagnostic Assessments, professional training and Social Enterprise leadership. As a skilled trainer since her MOE days, she has conducted approximately 3000 Diagnostic Assessments and numerous professional training workshops for parents, educators, volunteers and the public at large.

Her experience in the mainstream education system accompanied with her specialist training give her edge in both fields and is a gem in helping struggling students who are capable of learning and excelling. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Special Education and is a part-time tutor and supervisor at National Institute of Education (NIE) for training teachers.

Her humble beginnings launched in faith and conviction has led her to set up 2 outstanding schools. Her success has led her to be crowned Singapore’s first ever DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (YES) Award, whose works evidence commitment towards the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. She has also been honoured with another prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award.

A celebrated Social Entrepreneur, Areena’s burning passion is to create wealth through honourable and profitable businesses so as to reach out to the needy, abused and oppressed children, orphans and street-kids in the nations. She envisioned them being educated and growing up to become strategic marketplace leaders with great influence for societies.

Areena’s sphere of influence rises as a sought-after speaker addressing a wide spectrum of audience from undergraduates, young working adults, entrepreneurs and professionals in the academic, social, business and government sectors.

Bridge Builders

Bridge Learning understands very well that the “software” is the most important ingredient in the field of education and working with young lives. Life teaches us that qualifications alone do not justify people to be “good or effective educators or specialists”.

At Bridge, the selection and recruitment of staff are handled with utmost care and rigorous procedures. More than just diploma, degree or masters qualifications, we are very fastidious about the heart, character and passion for children and youths.

We call ourselves the Bridge Builders! And our learners are The Bridgers!

Every Bridge Builder is required to fulfil a list of character and performance criteria before they are chosen and confirmed. On top of the various qualifications possessed, all staff has to go through weeks of intensive training on Bridge Methodology, additional trainings in specific learning needs and areas and receive continuous training and development throughout the year.

The more we share, the more we learn. The more we learn, the more we can share.

Bridge Learning is made up of people with sound character, passion and believing hearts. We choose people of various educational backgrounds, experience, skills and giftings to provide a spectrum of perspectives and strengths for a more holistic team of developmental specialists.

 Check out for yourselves the relationships, rapport and love shared among our Bridge Builders and Bridgers! We heard endless feedback from parents that their children just love coming to and learning at Bridge Learning! Happy Learners are our trademark!