Esther Kwan is a principal of a school with no campus and no students – at least not yet. Until recently, it also had no staff except for her and her vice principal.

But when the school opens in January 2026, it will make history. ACS (Academy) is the first Methodist school that caters to students with special needs. Singapore’s fifth ASD-NC (Autism Spectrum Disorder-National Curriculum) Special Education school will serve students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who have no intellectual impairment and can access the national curriculum.

(Second from left) Esther with the staff of ACS (Academy).

Until its campus at Tengah New Town is ready in 2031, the school, which is run by ACS in partnership with the Methodist Welfare Services (MWS), will operate at an interim site in Chua Chu Kang. ACS (Primary) will join them there as well, transitioning to a co-educational institution and bringing with it its Gifted Education Programme (GEP).

A stellar career

Esther’s appointment as principal seems particularly fitting.

The 45-year-old was in special education for 18 years, working her way up from teacher to principal of Grace Orchard School (GOS), a school under the Presbyterian Community Social Services. GOS caters to children aged seven to 18 with Mild Intellectual Disorder (MID) as well as those with ASD.

She was a recipient of the MOE-NCSS Outstanding SPED Teacher Award in 2016 and obtained a Master’s Scholarship in Special Education (Overseas) from the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2018 to study at Vanderbilt University.

She is also acaregiver to her 38-year-old brother with special needs.

But Esther never planned to be a teacher in special education.

“I wanted to be a cashier at Daimaru supermarket,” she told Salt&Light. “As a child, I went there every weekend and I loved the sound of the cash register.”

God’s clear plan

When childhood fancies gave way to more sober ambitions, Esther set her sights on being a teacher.

“I wanted to be a teacher when I was in Primary 6 because of a teacher I had. She was very strict, yet she showed that she cared.

“That whole desire to care for others, to teach and to instruct was strong (in me). That was something I knew I wanted to do.”

Esther’s mother worked in her early childhood education sector. Her father worked for an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer, travelling often to train his clients to use the equipment. 

In her late teens, Esther’s family moved to the US for a few years because of her father’s work. There, she thought she might go into the mission field instead.

In preparation for gaining entry into creative access countries, Esther earned a Master’s in Elementary Education alongside her degree in Christian missions.

After seven years, she returned to Singapore and decided to fulfil her childhood ambition instead.

Still, going into SPED schools never crossed her mind.

“I thought I couldn’t go into special education because I need banter and interaction from my students.”

Having lived with her brother with special needs and volunteered at his SPED school, she knew she was not going to get that with students with special needs.

But then she saw an ad in the newspaper for a position at GOS. It was a mission school near her home, so she applied for the job – one of many applications she sent out.

When she got the position, she only planned to stay for two years. Instead, she ended up in GOS for the next 18 years.

“And I enjoyed every second of it,” she said to Salt&Light.

An integrated, inclusive education

Those years in GOS uniquely prepared Esther to take the helm at ACS (Academy).

“I didn’t go into teaching to be a principal. That was farthest in my mind. But every few years, I had a change of portfolio. I was given a lot of opportunities.

“I did curriculum work, worked with families, communications, rebranding of the school. 

“By the time I took on the role of principal, the only things that were completely foreign to me were finance and Human Resources.”

Then came the offer from ACS.

“It was exciting to me because one of my desires has always been to start a new school. I also knew my work at Grace Orchard was coming to a close and the Lord was calling me to somewhere else.”

Apart from skill sets, those GOS years also gave Esther a deeper understanding of special education. She realised that beyond education, her students needed help with life after they were done in school.

“They are isolated from their peers because they are in a special education school. How do we help the students find integrative social spaces for themselves? How do we create a community for them outside school?

“Life is also about relationships. If they don’t have that and if it is only coming from the school, it is a problem.”

That vision of an inclusive education will now be realised at ACS (Academy). With ACS (Primary) right next to it, there will be opportunities for both structured and unstructured interactions between the schools.

With integrated programmes allowing the students from both schools to interact, Esther expects that over time, the neurotypical “won’t say ‘I don’t know how to work with them’, and our students at ACS (Academy) won’t say, ‘They don’t understand us.’

“If we keep segregating our student profiles into SPED schools and non-SPED schools they don’t mix. So we must start from the school.”

Life lessons applied

Esther brings with her other expertise as well. She has lived experience that will bring heart to her work at ACS (Academy).

Her younger brother Andrew was born with a portion of his brain missing. As a result, he is severely intellectually disabled and requires care for all his daily living. Esther helps in his caregiving.

“I didn’t go into SPED because of my brother,” said Esther. “But I stayed because of him.

“One of the biggest lessons I learnt from my brother and each of my students is to see each child for who they are.

“We tend to just think about programmes, activities and education per se. But education is more than passing an exam, more than knowing how to deliver content.

“It is about knowing a person, helping them to grow because each person is so unique.”

She remembers a music class she once taught. It was a programme for all, but it made an especially big difference to one.

At the beginning, the students learnt on a paper keyboard. The plan was to progress to an actual keyboard once they had mastered the basics.

There was one student who sometimes struggled with taking instructions. But when he eventually got a chance to play on the keyboard, something clicked within him.

“I saw a spark in his eyes when he pressed that first note and realised that it translated into a sound and that was something he could do on his own. It was tremendous to me that it made such a difference.

“When we equip our students with the ability to do things, and it changes their outlook in life,” Esther told Salt&Light.

“One thing I enjoy most about special education is that often times the mainstream schools prime you for an exam or the next thing in your education pathway, but SPED schools teach life.

“And because of the years we have with them, we get to see them grow.”

A special place for those with special needs

ACS (Academy) will take in between 100 and 120 students in its first year in 2026.

Children born in 2018 and 2019, regardless of religious affiliations, who have a diagnosis of ASD with no intellectual impairment, and who require additional support to access the mainstream curriculum  are welcome to apply. Admissions close on August 31, 2025.

Once admitted, they will start at Lower Primary level, which they could take up to three years to complete. Middle and Upper Primary levels will follow. 

A planning session for the school which will open in January 2026.

To accommodate their special learning needs, student-teacher ratio will be kept low. There will also be allied professional staff like a psychologist and speech therapist at hand.

Environmental provisions have been added as well. A percentage of the classrooms will be air-conditioned to help those with sensory needs. There will be calm rooms on every floor and calm corners in some classrooms.

Calm rooms are spaces specially designed to prevent over-simulation of the senses for those with autism. Soft lighting, muted colour and noise reduction, as well as sensory tools like calming music and textured surfaces may be incorporated to help reduce stress levels.

Esther (in front) with the team at a monthly prayer meeting for the school.

“For some of them to learn and for us to teach them skills for them to be able to self-regulate, we need to provide the support of external calm spaces.

“People often misunderstand and say, ‘Why do they always behave like that?’ and call it ‘meltdowns’, but behaviour is a form of communication.”

School is months away from opening, but the work has begun in earnest.

“It is interesting how God put everything together. If I didn’t have those experiences, I would be floundering,” Esther told Salt&Light.

“I’m very, very excited but there’s also a bit of fear and trepidation. It’s good and healthy. I’m excited to see what God will be doing in and through us.”

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