Neighbor News
Ridgefield Academy and Landmark Preschool Announce Transformative Outdoor Campus Project
New outdoor learning spaces will expand opportunities for education, movement, play, exploration, and community.
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Ridgefield Academy and Landmark Preschool (RA|LP) have announced plans for a transformative outdoor campus project designed around a simple idea: Children should be at the center of their learning—and at the center of the spaces in which that learning takes place. The new outdoor environment will expand opportunities for students to explore, engage with their surroundings, and experience their education in a variety of settings.
The vision for a reimagined outdoor learning environment was unveiled at a schoolwide event on Thursday, September 3, where the RA|LP community gathered to preview plans for a reimagined heart of campus. Construction is anticipated during the spring and summer of 2027, with the project ready for students to experience at the start of the 2027–2028 school year.
Central to the initiative is an expansion of the ways students can learn and engage outdoors. New and enhanced spaces will support hands-on science and environmental learning, outdoor classes and presentations, performances and school gatherings, exploration of the natural world, and active recreation and play. Together, they will create an environment designed around how children learn, move, interact, and experience their school throughout the day.
Among the initiative’s most exciting features will be a new outdoor amphitheater designed to bring the school community together. The flexible space will provide a setting for all-school assemblies, student presentations, performances, and classes, while creating a new venue for shared experiences and celebrations. Expanded outdoor areas will give students added space for recreation and informal interaction, while nature trails extending through the wooded areas of campus will invite exploration and provide opportunities for students to develop a deeper understanding of their natural surroundings.
The landscape will also serve as a living laboratory for students, building on existing programming such as investigating pond life, observing invasive plant species, and engaging in horticulture. Campus water features will offer additional opportunities for students to study ecosystems, water, wildlife, and the natural world through direct observation and hands-on investigation. In this way, the outdoor environment becomes an extension of the classroom—one that invites students to engage directly with the world they are learning about.
The student-centered vision extends beyond learning and programming to the way children move through campus. By removing most vehicular traffic from the middle of campus and rerouting the School’s existing traffic patterns, the School will create an internal pedestrian space that makes the campus more connected and easily navigable, giving students greater freedom to move between buildings and outdoor spaces and creating more opportunities for interaction among grade levels.
"From our focus on joyful learning to a curriculum rooted in authentic interaction, children are at the heart of everything we do at Ridgefield Academy,” said Board Chair Rachel Sondheimer. “By removing most vehicular traffic from the middle of campus and creating more usable and connected greenspace, this project doubles down on this idea and places children at the center of our physical space as well.”
This campus transformation builds upon RA|LP’s history of thoughtfully investing in spaces that enhance the student experience. The opening of the Outdoor Campus Center and Playscape in 2021 was a significant transformation for the school, changing the way students, faculty, and families gather, play, and connect on campus. This new initiative builds on that success by extending the usable campus, creating new outdoor learning opportunities, and intentionally connecting the School’s lower and upper divisions.
“The Outdoor Campus Center showed us just how powerful a thoughtfully designed outdoor space can be for our students and our community,” said Tom Main, Head of School. “This project takes that idea even further. It creates places where students can learn, perform, explore nature, play, gather with the entire school, and simply have the freedom to move comfortably through their campus. It is an environment designed around the way children actually learn and grow.”
The project is being supported through the Growing Minds, Growing Spaces Campaign, a meaningful fundraising effort that will provide the philanthropic resources needed to bring the vision to life. RA|LP has already received commitments totaling $3.5 million, representing significant early momentum for the campaign.
For RA|LP, this is ultimately an investment in how children experience school. By placing students at the center of the physical campus, the new environment will give them more opportunities to learn by doing, discover through exploration, come together as a community, and experience the freedom and joy that are essential to childhood.
About Ridgefield Academy and Landmark Preschool
Ridgefield Academy and Landmark Preschool is an independent school serving children from Preschool through Grade 8. With campuses in Ridgefield, Westport, and Bedford, RA|LP is committed to providing a dynamic, engaging educational experience that inspires curiosity, builds confidence, and prepares students to thrive as learners and leaders. To learn more, visit www.ridgefieldacademy.org.
