Assets School, the only K-12 school in Hawaii specializing in educating children who are gifted, dyslexic or have other language-based learning differences, has received an anonymous $1.25 million donation to support tuition assistance.
The largest single donation in the school’s history since its founding in 1955 was made by a California-based donor, establishing The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell Scholarship Fund at Assets in honor of his late grandmother — Anne — and his late father, H. Benjamin.
The fund will provide financial aid to eligible students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Assets School. There’s 120 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, where tuition is $28,515 a year. High school tuition is set at $29,813.
Assets, located near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, serves about 300 students in total.
“This generous and historic donation will have a meaningful impact on the lives of our brilliant children and their families for generations,” Assets Head of School Ryan Masa said in a statement. “Many families never expect to fund a private school education that provides an 8 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio and a curriculum that meets their child’s strengths and weaknesses. The Tuition Assistance Fund is our top priority to ensure a child can receive our life-changing Assets education. The entire Assets community is grateful to have the honor of recognizing the legacy of Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell with this transformative scholarship fund.”
According to the statement, Kirkwood dedicated her life to teaching primary grades. She lived in Hawaii in the 1920s, working as a schoolteacher, before moving to Berkeley, Calif., in the 1930s, where she taught at the Anna Head School for Girls for nearly 50 years before retiring.
The donor established the fund to honor the legacies of both his father and grandmother, especially because, according to an Assets spokeswoman, Kirkwood had “a strong affinity for helping children with learning differences.”
As Kirkwood was a former schoolteacher in Hawaii, the donor felt that Assets School, being the only school in Hawaii specializing in educating children with learning differences, was the most fitting recipient.
“The generous donation from the Campbell family is a critical lifeline for families like mine, who are often confronted with the harsh reality that the resources available for children with learning differences are profoundly inadequate,” Assets parent Chelsie Evans said in a statement. “Financial aid has been a crucial support for my family, making it possible for both of my daughters. Our household has the gifts of dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and ADHD, all of which require a specific learning environment in order to see thriving results. Without this aid, we would face the unbearable choice of deciding which child could receive the opportunity of a life-changing education. Thanks to donors like the Campbell family, both of my children can thrive in an environment that understands and nurtures their unique learning needs.”
The scholarship is need-based, requiring families to undergo an application and screening process. There is no cap on the amount a student can receive.
In addition to the $1.25 million donation, Assets School receives funding from various sources, including grants and annual fundraisers, which typically raise $250,000 to $350,000, as well as an annual fund drive that encourages donations from employees, families and alumni.
According to its vice president of institutional advancement, Linda Jameson Myers, Assets aims to distribute about $900,000 to $1 million to students in financial aid each year.
Carrie Barringer, parent of Assets third grader Jack, expressed in a statement that the Assets community has “not only shared life-changing support for Jack’s language-based learning differences but has also gifted him priceless confidence in who he is as an individual. As parents to five boys, we could not provide Jack with an Assets education without the generous assistance of supporters like those who helped create The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell Scholarship Fund. With grateful hearts, we thank them for the difference they make for children and families like ours!”
Correction: The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell Scholarship Fund will provide financial aid to eligible students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Assets School. An earlier version of this story said the fund will provide financial aid to 120 students.