From a homeschool in Riyadh to a pioneering international institution, Aida Adnan is redefining education in the Middle East through Makers Learning School International (MLS), bringing compassion, innovation, and conscious leadership to every student’s experience.
Aida Adnan grew up immersed in the world of education. Her mother founded early learning schools in Saudi Arabia and the United States, and from a young age, Aida learned first-hand how schools could be run with students’ needs at the center, from curriculum to daily care. This early exposure shaped her understanding of what it truly means to create a nurturing and high-standard learning environment.
Aida’s career in education began 30 years ago. After completing her studies, she gained practical experience working at her parents’ school in Virginia. When she returned to Saudi Arabia, she carried a vision to build a school that reflected her values and met the standards she would want for her own children. As a mother of five Saudi children, Aida’s mission was deeply personal. She wanted an educational environment that supported holistic growth, curiosity, well-being, and nurtured a deep connection to culture and multilingual learning.
In 2005, she founded MLS as a small early childhood center in her home. From the start, her approach was holistic and intentional. Children were served warm, homemade meals because Aida believed that nutrition is inseparable from learning and that school should feel as comforting and supportive as home. Her guiding principle was simple and unwavering: “If it is not good enough for my children, it is not good enough for anyone’s children.” Every decision from meals to curriculum to teaching methods was measured against that standard.
MLS grew holistically, guided by the support of parents and students. It began with the early years and added a grade each year, expanding into elementary education to build a strong foundation. Encouraged by families, Aida expanded thoughtfully, assembling a leadership team to bring her vision to life step by step. Collaboration and experienced educators were key to this growth. This year, MLS celebrates a major milestone: its first graduating class of 2026. “We developed the program gradually, always keeping the needs of our students and families in mind,” Aida recalls, with every addition designed to foster academic, social, and emotional growth while staying true to the school’s mission.
MLS has since evolved into a fully accredited PYP and American diploma school, integrating project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and design thinking. At MLS, small class sizes allow for personalized student learning and meaningful connections. Aida emphasizes, “We’re not just driven by numbers. We’re driven by impact, ensuring every student receives the support and guidance they need to thrive.”
Her school was among the first in the region to teach Mandarin (alongside a strong Arabic program and French), recognizing that early language learning supports cognitive and brain development. MLS was also a pioneer in fully integrating Dr. Becky Bailey’s Conscious Discipline framework, embedding emotional intelligence, empathy, and self-regulation into the culture to shape well-rounded, thoughtful learners.
Aida sees leadership as a continuous journey, modeling growth, not only for her staff but for herself. Professional development is at the heart of the school’s culture, with Aida guiding her team through frameworks such as Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, Netflix’s No Rules Rules, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. She encourages critical thinking beyond conventional limits, asking each year, “How can we do this better? How can we break boundaries and reimagine leadership and learning?” For Aida, innovation is not limited to classrooms; it defines how she cultivates a team that learns, experiments, and grows together as a school family.
Coming full circle, Aida’s daughter Tania works at MLS as Director of Innovation and social-emotional coach, bringing her Parsons design expertise to every classroom. She has built a makerspace culture where hands-on learning, technology, and design thinking thrive, and trains teachers to empower students to think critically, creatively, and with emotional awareness. “Watching Tania grow MLS into a place where students can experiment and innovate has been extraordinary,” Aida says. This year, her grandson Aydan joined the youngest class: “Seeing him walk into the same school I dreamed into existence is beyond words.”
MLS families are supportive, engaged, and aligned with the school’s vision. “They share our mission, values, and belief that education must be transformative,” Aida says. Even with cutting-edge approaches, she emphasizes the human element: “Technology and innovation are tools, not replacements for human potential.” From a small home-based center to a fully accredited international school, Aida’s journey reflects vision, perseverance, and high standards. MLS continues to grow, with a new campus in Diriyah planned for 2029 that will honor Saudi culture while fostering international-mindedness. “We are cultivating the next generation of critical thinkers, and pioneering leaders that lean in with compassion,” she says.
Through Aida’s leadership, MLS is more than a school. It is a living laboratory where ideas come to life, where curiosity fuels purpose, and where innovation grows from a culture intentionally nurtured. Aida believes that culture isn’t something you declare, it’s something you build every day. By transforming the way a community thinks, connects, and leads together, she has created a place where pushing the boundaries of education feels natural, even inevitable. In a world shaped by artificial intelligence, MLS remains deeply human, teaching emotional intelligence, empathy, and courageous thinking. This is how thoughtful, independent leaders are shaped, not by chance, but by a culture built with purpose, vision, and intention.
Learn more about MLS
Instagram: @mlsriyadh
Website: www.mls.com.sa
