Admissions

Aloha— Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of hearing from so many of you about your journeys with gifted education—the frustrations of watching your child's curiosity get dampened in classrooms that can't keep pace, the difficulty of finding true peers, the exhausting work of trying to supplement at home what the school day doesn't provide. Your stories have reinforced what Heidi and I already knew: there's a real need for a school like Tradewinds in Hawai'i. And more than that, there are families ready to move forward together to make it a reality.

We're making great progress toward opening Tradewinds School in fall 2026, and we want you there with us.

Today, we're opening our Priority Application for founding families. This is the classic startup chicken-and-egg moment: we need committed families in order to finalize facility and staffing decisions, and families need to know those details before committing. Here's how we're solving it: we're asking founding families to step forward with us now, trusting that together we can create something magical. In return, we'll give you priority in our admissions process and decisions by early spring—in time for re-enrollment deadlines at other schools.

What we're asking for:

• A brief application sharing your child's age, interests, and what you're hoping for from Tradewinds
• A $500 refundable priority application deposit

What that deposit means:

• It gives your family priority consideration in our admissions process (all students will be assessed for giftedness and program fit)
• It helps us make critical decisions about facility, staffing, and partnerships with real enrollment data
• It's fully refundable until February 1, 2026—and fully refundable if your child is not accepted or if we can't deliver the school we've described
• We'll notify you of acceptance decisions by early spring 2026, in time for re-enrollment deadlines at other schools
• Your deposit won't be spent—our school's startup costs are being covered by a generous donation. This deposit simply holds your spot.

About tuition:

We expect tuition to be $30,000-$40,000 per year, in line with other top private schools in Hawaiʻi. We expect to spend more than this per child, but we're charging a sustainable amount from year one so we don't need to surprise families with significant tuition increases in the near future. We are unable to offer financial aid at this time but will let you know if that changes.

Where we are right now:

• We're in active conversations about facility options in Honolulu (our campus will be located somewhere between Nuʻuanu and Hawaiʻi Kai)
• We're meeting with established schools about potential partnerships
• We're having conversations with potential Head of School candidates
• We're finalizing our partnership with 2 Hour Learning for AI-powered personalized learning for the core curriculum
• We're rounding out the rest of the curriculum to include arts, music, brain boosting movement and exercise, inquiry- and project-based learning, social emotional learning, science, engineering, and fun.

Here's what we're asking you today: if we build what we've described—a gifted learning environment in Honolulu where kids can learn as fast as they want, with true peers and expert guidance—will you join us?

I know this requires trust. You're considering a school that doesn't exist yet, and I'm making the same decision with my own son. But here's what I believe: creating something truly magical for gifted kids requires a founding cohort of families who get it—who understand what their children need and are willing to build it together. Your willingness to step forward now, in this chicken-and-egg moment, is what makes it possible. Tradewinds will only be a reality if we have enough families who share the vision.

If that resonates with you, I hope you'll apply. And if you have questions—about anything—please reach out to us at info@tradewinds.school. We're also happy to schedule one-on-one info sessions for any parents who want to learn more to see if Tradewinds is a fit for their family.

Let's build this together.

Andy Szybalski
Co-founder, Tradewinds School

P.S. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We have a limited number of spots in our founding cohort, so if you're interested, don't wait. Priority consideration will be given to applications submitted by November 30, 2025.