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Journeys of Transformation
Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, SHS Sees its Alumni Thriving After Their Time at Sand Hill School
Just over ten years ago, Dr. Rosalie Whitlock, CHC’s CEO, envisioned a new kind of strengths-based school devoted to serving kids with language-based learning differences. “My dream was to create a school where the teachers and clinical staff would work in sync to meet the needs of these unique and talented learners,” recalls Whitlock, “and where parents could find all of the resources they needed under one roof.”
Sand Hill School (SHS) at CHC opened its doors to seven bright young students in February 2011. Now serving approximately 80 students in grades 2-8 each year, and celebrating its 10th anniversary, SHS is witnessing its impact through its alumni, who are thriving after their time at Sand Hill School.
Thanks to generous CHC supporters, many families are able to receive scholarships in order to attend Sand Hill School with 50% of its students receiving financial aid. Two alumni families, the Ansarys and the Weidmans, share their life-changing experiences.
Wali, Maria & Zainab Ansary
Zainab Ansary entered SHS in the winter of fourth grade after attending a public school in Cupertino. Maria Chowdhury, her mother, is an artist, and Wali Ansary, her father, is an engineer. Wali describes his daughter as “compassionate and very conscientious. She’s emotionally intelligent, curious and nerdy, especially when it comes to social justice issues and pop psychology.”
When Zainab was little, she was a “happy go lucky kid” oblivious to her social surroundings, not understanding why she was being excluded by other kids. Maria and Wali recognized early on that Zainab needed extra support. Maria herself has dyslexia and understands deeply the challenges of having a disability. As early as kindergarten, they arranged for Zainab to have a neuropsychological assessment, but as her school continued to ignore her issues, the parents became more concerned.
“There were a few kids getting introduced to each other and asking one another, ‘...so what’s your disability? Oh! And what's your disability?’ It was so cute and so safe. I knew that was what she needed,” Wali recalls.
“What started off with academic struggles eventually translated to social struggles, being able to make and keep friends, and anger,” says Wali. “To the point where, when she was in third grade, I distinctly remember thinking ‘to heck with academics. I need my daughter to be happy.’ She was turning into this angry, miserable person. She was breaking. We needed a safer environment for her.”
The parents sought a second neuropsychological assessment for Zainab with Dr. Carina Grandison in Berkeley, who recommended they look into Sand Hill School.
Finding Sand Hill School was both reassuring and daunting for the family. “It was daunting because at that point there was no way that we could afford this,” explains Wali. “So we had to figure that out, and we needed to see whether the school would be a good fit. Heather and the Sand Hill School team, they were really gracious and helpful in navigating that.”
Through the ups and downs the first few years, Sand Hill School continued to be a welcoming place for Zainab, a young Muslim girl who always felt culturally different from others. Wali recalls one time he overheard the students talking to each other. “There were a few kids getting introduced to each other and asking one another, ‘…so what’s your disability? Oh! And what’s your disability?’ It was so cute and so safe. I knew that was what she needed.”
By middle school, Zainab gained a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. “She developed confidence and self-esteem. She began to make friendships and was able to read people and situations better and regulate her emotions,” says Wali. Zainab got there with the help of SHS teachers and staff who grew her interest in learning. Some of these teachers were Mr. Burnaugh, Mr. Montgomery, the history teacher, and Ms. Antipuesto. Zainab also discovered a passion for writing which served as a creative outlet.
“She developed confidence and self-esteem. She began to make friendships and was able to read people and situations better and regulate her emotions,” says Wali.
Later, the family discovered that Zainab’s younger brother, Meekaal, also needed support, and they enrolled him in SHS as well. It was another big hurdle financially for the family, but they applied for scholarships to help with tuition.
Wali and Maria are grateful for the financial aid they received from SHS. “Learning disabilities do not discriminate. It’s not something that only affects the affluent. It affects everybody. With scholarships, the children at Sand Hill School benefit even more from a more socioeconomically diverse student body. We are thankful. It has been an amazing way of making it all a reality.”
“Learning disabilities do not discriminate. It’s not something that only affects the affluent. It affects everybody. With scholarships, the children at Sand Hill School benefit even more from a more socioeconomically diverse student body. We are thankful. It has been an amazing way of making it all a reality.” —Wali & Maria
Zainab is currently a thriving freshman at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco. Like many teens her age, she wants to be liked by her peers and sometimes argues with her parents. The skills she learned at Sand Hill School have given her a solid foundation. “She has found her way of getting things done and staying on top of things. Through encouragement, coaching and the genuinely nurturing talent at Sand Hill School, Zainab has blossomed,” says Wali. “It has been transformational.”
Chris, Renae & Logan Weidman
Logan Weidman is an SHS alum who is now a happy high schooler in his junior year at Compass High School. He is also the student council vice president for the second year in a row. Logan’s journey has been a series of dramatic twists and turns. When he first arrived at Sand Hill School mid-way through the fourth grade he had been attending a public school for years.
“The IEP never came to anything,” recalls Renae Weidman, Logan's mom. The school’s speech therapist demanded that Logan needed to handwrite 40 sentences despite his having dysgraphia, and they continually ignored Logan's needs as he slipped further behind.
Out of desperation, Logan’s mother contacted Charles Armstrong School, and they directed them to the Sand Hill School. It was life-changing.
“On his first day of shadowing, he just fell right into the class. He was participating and he didn't have any problems. And the second day, he raised his hand and tried to read in the class. I literally burst into tears,” says Renae.
Says Renae, “On his first day of shadowing, he just fell right into the class. He was participating and he didn’t have any problems. And the second day, he raised his hand and tried to read in the class. I literally burst into tears.”
Logan told his mom, “I need to go back to that school. I have friends there, and they’re waiting for me.” Renae, too, immediately loved Sand Hill School, but was unsure of how they were going to pay for the tuition. Fortunately, they applied for financial aid and received a scholarship for every year that Logan attended. Renae is deeply grateful. “We try to send in a donation when we can, because it’s important that other kids can have a place like Sand Hill School.”
“The teachers were amazing. He was able to receive speech therapy and occupational therapy right there, all of it, combined. I don’t know where he would be without it.”
Logan's first day at Sand Hill School
While at SHS, Logan worked hard with private intensive reading sessions after school and he discovered his strengths in math. “He was able to access the curriculum,” says Renae. “He was able to learn to read.” Renae and Logan were especially inspired by SHS history teacher John Montgomery, who himself was diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia as a child. One of the memorable moments was when Montgomery coordinated a “Sojourner to the Past” class trip to the American Deep South to learn about the Modern Civil Rights movement.
Logan enrolled in Compass High School as freshman, tried public school for a year, and then the pandemic hit. After a difficult year battling depression, Logan re-enrolled in Compass High School, where he is in a supportive environment that is helping him thrive again like he did at SHS. “Our experience at Sand Hill was such a good one,” reminisces Renae. “The teachers were all excellent. We didn't worry about him emotionally anymore. He became the child that I knew that he [always] was. I got the child that I knew was hiding in there.”
“Our experience at Sand Hill was such a good one. The teachers were all excellent. We didn't worry about him emotionally anymore. He became the child that I knew that he always was. I got the child that I knew was hiding in there,” says Renae.
