AIMING HIGHERHead of School Message

Becoming the pre-eminent independent school in Cincinnati was the vision the Board of Trustees put forward for the school in the fall of 2011. From that vision, they mapped out a strategic plan which called for the school to work in four areas: strengthening the academic program, improving the school’s character and leadership programs, making the education we offer more personalized/individualized for each student and enhancing the school’s business model.

Since that time, the faculty and staff have made strong progress on the initiatives outlined in the plan:

• In 2012-13 we rolled out the more intentional Character Education Program whereby the 13 most essential character traits were owned by the 13 grades in the school, which are held responsible for ensuring the traits are woven into the curriculum throughout the year.

• In 2012-13 we rolled out the goal-setting program whereby students in grades 1-12 decide with their parents which two to three goals they plan to pursue for the year – one of which must be academic. The school then works with the child to develop the plan to achieve the goals and then follows up with the student during the year to ensure progress.

• In 2013-14 we initiated the Social Skills Program. The long-term objective is to graduate students whose emotional intelligence is as developed as their intellectual intelligence. Again, skills are assigned by grade and some 70

lesson plans were developed to ensure that Summit students are more polished than their peers in other schools.

• In 2013-14 we announced the Aspire Program,

designed to attract and retain more middle class families who feel they can’t quite afford a top tier independent school education. This year we have 29 students from 18 families who wouldn’t be at the school if it wasn’t for this program. The board wants to ensure the socio-economic diversity of the student body.

• In 2013-14 we inaugurated the Science Research Institute, designed to give our best and most motivated science students the opportunity to engage in authentic research in a professional laboratory. Student and parent response was overwhelming. Last summer we had 16 students involved in this program. Ten more juniors are in the program this year. Not many students are going to show up in college admissions offices having done such high level research while still in high school.

These programs were developed and funded within the budget of the school. However, there were other projects on the strategic plan that required an infusion of funds beyond tuition. Therefore, the Board approved conducting a feasibility study in November 2013 to gauge the interest and willingness of various key stakeholders in supporting a comprehensive campaign.

The report from that study determined that it is feasible to enter into a comprehensive campaign that expands the annual fund, secures capital for building improvements and grows the endowment. One benchmark for proceeding with a capital campaign is to have 70 percent of the donors indicate a willingness to give. Our feasibility study showed that 97 percent of our largest donors were onboard with the campaign.

Many capital campaigns are blessed with receipt of a transformational gift. In our feasibility study, no one identified themself as providing a transformational gift. Consequently, for our campaign to be successful, everyone would need to give sacrificially for us to achieve our goal. Based on all this information, the Board approved in January 2014 to proceed with the campaign.

Leadership in such an endeavor is critical to success. Consequently, choosing co-chairs of the campaign who live the school’s mission and are recognized in our community as key leaders was an important next