ROELAND PARK, Kan. — A Roeland Park family needs Kansas City's help as they grieve the loss of their young daughter.
The Hughes family is trying to start a scholarship to Horizon Academy in her name.
Libby and Sean Hughes said their daughter, Isabel, had dyslexia and various mental health struggles.
“We knew something needed to change and so we contacted Horizon (Academy),” Libby Hughes said.
Horizon Academy is a private, independent school that supports and empowers children with diagnosed learning disabilities. Isabel joined Horizon Academy after sixth grade and graduated in eighth grade.
“She had really changed into the girl we knew and the woman we were excited to see,” Sean Hughes said.
So much so, they said Isabel was on track to return to public school this fall.
“It comes in waves, and this one hit hard,” Sean Hughes said.
Sean and Libby Hughes said even Isabel’s brightest days were shadowed in darkness.
“Her brother and sister came out of the house running and screaming, they’d gone looking for her and found her in her room,” Libby Hughes said.
It’s been just over a week since they lost her.
“She’d been struggling for a long time, and she fought as long and hard as she could, and we’re proud of her for that,” Sean Hughes said.
Their next step was as clear as their grief: a scholarship.
“It just kind of spoke to us that she would want to take care of people and provide Horizon the opportunity it provided her,” Sean Hughes said.
Head of School Vicki Asher said the scholarship is exactly what attending Horizon Academy means.
“Students here have a learning disability, that’s right, but many of the world’s greatest artists, musicians, actors, actresses, scientists, have also had learning disabilities and that didn’t stop them," Asher said.
At Horizon, Asher said students are taught that what makes you different, is your superpower.
“So, it’s kind of hope on the horizon, but it also means a fresh start, a new day,” she said.
The Hughes family has started a GoFundMe to help fund the scholarship.
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