Meet the Hollingsworth Family

John and Delaine Hollingsworth knows how difficult it can be to give a child with exceptional needs a good education.

The Hollingsworth’s adopted their autistic grandson, Cody, when he was in kindergarten “knowing that he would have special needs for a long time.” The Hollingsworth’s placed Cody in a private school, hoping that it could provide the help that he needed. But after several up-and-down years, the school wasn’t able to give Cody the attention he needed and simply placed him in a traditional classroom.

“It was awful,” expresses Delaine. “Cody would get in the car and say, ‘Grandma, I had a really bad day.’” That’s when the Hollingsworth’s knew they needed something different.

So the Hollingsworth’s began to search for the right place for Cody. They found the perfect situation in Hidden Treasure Christian School—a private school that specializes in helping children with exceptional needs. “From the instant we walked into Hidden Treasure, there was a calm and a peace,” explains Delaine. There was just one concern—the cost.

Thankfully, Cody is eligible for South Carolina’s relatively new Exceptional Needs Tax Credit Scholarship. When asked if they could afford to send Cody to Hidden Treasure without the help of this Scholarship, Delaine answers simply, “No.” Cody receives a full scholarship, which allows the Hollingsworth’s to place and keep him in this environment that allows him to excel.

Cody benefits in many ways from his time at Hidden Treasure. “They’ve taken him in, and loved us all,” says Delaine. “It’s been a wonderful experience. Cody had learned some really bad habits at the [other] school, but now Cody is obedient,” she explains. Not only has Cody matured, but he has also excelled academically at Hidden Treasure because “everyone is so supportive. Cody is very intelligent, and the small classroom atmosphere really helps him,” says Delaine.

Delaine expresses how grateful they are for the comfort and the opportunity that the Exceptional Needs Scholarship provides: “It means peace of mind. Hidden Treasure is an amazing place, and the right place for Cody.”