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Great Minds Capital Campaign

On August 25, 2026, we announced to the community the launch of The Great Minds Capital Campaign, made possible in part by a lead $3 million gift from The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation. This transformational gift will create the Clarence T.C. Ching Neighborhood, permanent classrooms and buildings for music, drama, art, and robotics/makerspace. The life of the late and great Clarence T.C. Ching is incredibly inspirational, and his work ethic and perseverance align with how hard our students work. We are grateful to the Ching Foundation for investing in our students and our school's future.

Three days later, we announced the naming of the Radiant Star Performance Studio Honoring Zachary and Faye Mar. This generous donation was made possible by former Assets parent Dexter Mar, who also created the Radiant Star Scholarship, a $5,000 award to a college-bound student who exemplifies his son Zachary's perseverance, strength, and radiant light.

The Clarence T.C. Ching Neighborhood will be designed like a cul-de-sac, with the 3,000-square-foot standalone Donald C. Brace Library to the end. Former Assets parent and Trustee Karen Scheid generously named the library in honor of her grandfather, Donald C. Brace Library.  In 1919, Mr. Brace founded the publishing powerhouse Harcourt, Brace & Howe, which printed books by notable authors like Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot.

Our Great Minds Capital Campaign video showcases our students, their love for the arts, and their gratitude to now be able to read, along with the vision behind each G70 designed classroom. Enjoy!

Explore What We're Building

Take a closer look at what’s taking shape across campus. Each project is thoughtfully designed to support how Assets students learn, create, and grow.
The Donald C. Brace Library

The Donald C. Brace Library will ignite our students’ love of reading and fuel their imaginations. Designed as an inspiring and supportive learning environment, it will provide spaces to read, write, study, and collaborate. The Donald C. Brace Library will be a focal point of our K-8 campus, offering specialized resources, adaptive technologies, and more than 3,000 square feet of dedicated learning space. This will be the first permanent Library Building at our K-8 campus.

The Great Minds Makerspace

The Great Minds Makerspace, part of the new Clarence T.C. Ching Neighborhood, will be our first permanent Makerspace Building for robotics and other tinkering! Our K-8 dedicated makerspace will foster hands-on, project-based learning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.  Our makerspace curriculum will prepare our students for our rigorous, award-winning high school robotics program, which is internationally recognized.

 
The Great Minds Assets Music Studio

Our Great Minds Music Studio, part of the new Clarence T.C. Ching Neighborhood, will be a state-of-the-art space where students can explore, create, and grow through music. It will feature a soundproof audio booth to digitally capture instrumental or vocal performances. Music provides an outlet for students to improve vocabulary, and their verbal and visual working memory while boosting self-esteem and confidence. This will be the first permanent Music Studio Building at the K-8 campus.

Radiant Star Performing Arts Studio Honoring Zachary and Faye Mar

Thanks to a generous gift from Dexter Mar, Assets’ new Radiant Star Performing Arts Studio Honoring Zachary and Faye Mar will give students a dedicated space to embrace their theatrical selves. Designed as a black box theatre, the studio will have the capacity to welcome families and fans alike. Drama provides a multifaceted approach to learning, helping students build reading, comprehension, communication, confidence, and collaboration skills. This will be the first permanent Drama Building on the K–8 campus. Each year, our students perform a major production, typically hosted at Palikū Theatre, after honing their skills right here at Assets.

 
The Great Minds Art Studio

Our #GreatMinds will have a new Art Studio, part of the Clarence T.C. Ching Neighborhood, designed to fuel their creative talents and provide a gallery space to showcase their outstanding work. Students will be inspired inside the classroom or outside on the covered lanai while painting, drawing, or crafting pottery, with a new kiln just steps away. Art provides a valuable canvas for learning, communication, and emotional expression. This will be the first permanent Art Building at our K–8 campus.

 

Recent Announcements and News Coverage

Pacific Business News: Assets School to use largest donation yet for $10M campus upgrade project
Pacific Business News: Assets School to use largest donation yet for $10M campus upgrade project

Assets School, a Honolulu private school that specializes in educating children who are gifted and those with dyslexia or language-based learning differences, is breaking ground next week on a $10 million upgrade project at its K-8 campus near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

Read More about Pacific Business News: Assets School to use largest donation yet for $10M campus upgrade project

Project Timeline 

Construction will be carefully managed to minimize classroom disruption, though some disruption is inevitable. Parents will receive detailed scheduling updates and will be consulted throughout the process. Additionally, this page will be updated with new information as we receive it.

Why We’re Making These Spaces Permanent

Assets School has a long history of adapting to meet our students’ needs. Originally established at Pearl Harbor, our K–8 program moved in 1992 to our current campus at 1 Ohana Nui Way, near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. At the time, the land was leased from the U.S. Navy, and lease restrictions prevented the construction of permanent buildings. To provide learning spaces, we installed temporary classroom structures—trailers—intended as short-term solutions.

Years later, we purchased the land, securing a permanent home for our community. Yet these temporary classrooms have remained, serving multiple generations far beyond their intended lifespan. While functional, they no longer reflect the caliber of teaching, creativity, and innovation that define our strength-based curriculum for gifted, dyslexic, and diverse learners.

Now is the time to transform these spaces into purpose-built classrooms and a thoughtfully designed playground. These spaces will not only enhance learning but also foster play, collaboration, and exploration, providing students with inspiring, functional, and timeless environments that empower them to thrive—today and for generations to come.

From A Vision to Reality: Join Us in Building the Future

We invite you to be part of this transformative journey. Your support of our capital campaign will help turn this long-held vision into reality—ensuring that current and future generations of Assets students have access to the inspiring, purpose-built spaces they deserve. Every gift, no matter the size, brings us closer to a campus that truly reflects the strength, creativity, and brilliance of our learners. Together, we can build a future as extraordinary as the students we serve.

Want to learn more about our Capital Campaign? Please reach out to Linda Jameson Myers, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, via email at lmyers@assets-school.org or phone at 808-440-3605.