Thanks to the philanthropic leadership of John Kriewall and Betsy Haehl, whose generosity and partnership with CHC helped launch Sand Hill School in 2011, we are pleased to announce the Sand Hill School Scholarship Fund. We realize that not every family whose child is a fit for Sand Hill School can afford a Sand Hill School education. The Sand Hill School Scholarship Fund will help change that.
As we well know, the traditional classroom setting does not work for every child. This is why Sand Hill School is such a magical place. Kids come to Sand Hill after having experienced frustration or failure in their previous school setting due to emerging issues related to learning disabilities, inattention, distractibility or anxiousness about academic tasks. Children with ADHD and learning differences often have intense emotions, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
One Sand Hill parent recently reflected, “My kid hated school. He had some anger issues, very low self-esteem, and some health issues. People weren’t believing in him. A friend told me about Sand Hill, and from the moment we got there everything changed. Every day that I dropped him off, I felt I was dropping him off to a family—a family that believed in him, that wouldn’t give up on him, that held him to high standards, that loved him. They never ever gave up on him.” Financial aid made it possible for this student to come to Sand Hill.
This year, thanks to the generous philanthropy of our donors, four new students requiring nearly 100% tuition assistance were able to attend Sand Hill School. These kids came to us with multiple learning differences, challenges with reading, math, and executive functioning to ADHD and anxiety. Some of these children were being bullied and teased at school because of their learning difference. No child can thrive in a hostile environment like that. After a few months, one of our teachers noticed a big difference in one of these new students saying, “she has made strong friendships and enters class each day with a smile. She has gained significant confidence in her reading, math and spelling abilities. She is now blossoming academically.”
The Sand Hill School Scholarship Fund makes this kind of progress possible for these wonderful kids—allowing them the opportunity to feel successful again.