Summer on the Hill

Since 1994, SOH has served 1,700 NYC public school students and their families. Theaverage annual income of SOH families is $65,000. 90% of our students representminority groups. Two-thirds aspire to be the first in their families to attendcollege.SOH offers specialized programs to grades 3-8 and to high school students. The grade3-8 program, a six-year commitment for accepted students and their families, consists of a yearly five-week summer program bridged by a 17 to 18 Saturday academic year program. Each year, approximately 215 elementary and middle school students attend accelerated classes in core academic subjects, including math, science and language arts. In the summer, students also have classes in visual and performing arts, and sports and fitness. Among SOH's greatest assets is an experienced, dedicated faculty . Most of our teachers hold graduate degrees and work in local independent, parochial and public schools.All 5th and 8th graders, and their parents, receive individual guidance on schoolchoices. Since 2004, more than 75 SOH students have been accepted to NYC specialize.or audition high schools, including Bronx Science and Stuyvesant. More than 150students have been accepted to top-ranked independent schools, including Horace Mann, Riverdale Country, Fieldston, Hackley, Dalton and Nightingale-Bamford.The High School Program is open to alumni of the grade 3-8 program. 30-40 studentsattend free ACT prep classes on 17 to 18 Saturdays during the academic year. SOHtakes students on free college tours, offers individual college counseling, and holds workshops on college admissions, financial aid, scholarship funds, and interviewing skills. In the Summer, SOH selects and trains 30 high school students to serve as mentors, under staff supervision, to the younger children in the summer program. SOH has placed 92% of its 2004-2017 high school graduates (410 students) in more than 130 colleges and universities, including six Ivy League Institutions.SOH encourages students to develop high expectations and a strong sense ofresponsibility. Grade 3-8 students maintain an average attendance rate of over 90%High school students volunteer to serve as mentors to younger children and to helpout in the SOH office . In addition to academic enrichment and guidance, studentsdevelop life-long bonds with classmates who share their experiences and aspirations.Our students say that SOH is Xlike family,X and our college graduates say they"couldn't have done it with out SOH!"Attendance & Attrition: Attendance has remained consistently above 90%, which isremarkable given that our programs are voluntary, held outside of regular school hours, and require local travel. Attendance for the 2017 summer program was over 96%, demonstrating the commitment of our young students and their families. The attrition rate is approximately 5% yearly.Middle School Placement: SOH has placed 241 elementary level students in independentschools, including George Jackson Academy, De La Salle Academy, and Horace Mann'sMiddle School, as well as Ethical Culture Fields ton, Nightingale-Bamford, RiverdaleCountry School, Speyer Legacy, and St. Bernard's . All SOH students attendingindependent schools receive enough financial aid to make their enrollment possible .High School Placement: In 2017, 100% of rising ninth graders gained admission intocollege preparatory high schools. Between 2010 and 2017,49 SOH students were accepted to specialized NYC public high schools: Bronx Science (20), Brooklyn Latin (1),Brooklyn Tech (3), HS for American Studies at Lehman (7), HS for Math, Science, and Engineering at City College (10), LaGuardia (5), and Stuyvesant (3). During this same period, students were also accepted to boarding schools (St . Paul's, PhillipsExeter), Catholic schools (Cardinal Spellman, Fordham Prep), and independent schools(Horace Mann, Riverdale).Standardized Test Results: Scores of SOH students on the Stanford Achievement TestSeries compare very favorably with students nationwide in 2017, they scored in the89th percentile in Reading, the 92nd percentile in Math, and the 87th percentile inReading. ACT testing showed a 13% increase in English scores, a 9% increase inReading scores, and a 12% increase in Math scores.College Placement: Over 92% of SOH's 2004-2017 high school graduates matriculated at colleges and universities, including Amherst, Barnard, Bates, Boston College,Bowdoin, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard,Middlebury, MlT, NYU, Smith, Swarthmore, SUNY Binghamton, University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan, Williams, and Yale.SOH College Graduates: Graduates are working in education, finance , health, insurance and technology, or are enrolled in graduate or medical schools.Awards: In March 2009, Dr . Mcivor, SOH's founding director, received the Lewis HineDistinguished Service Award for expanding educational opportunities for low-incomeyouth.Recognition: Since 1994, SOH has received over $12 million in grants and individualgifts. Recent grants have been awarded by these foundations: Altman, Baldwin,Charina, Colgate-Palmolive, Davis, Donchian, Gerstner, Hayden, Niles, Oaklawn,Reisert, Rothblum, and Shaw . Three NYC Councilmen and the Bronx Council have awarded discretionary grants to SOH . The NYC Department of Education and the NYS Department of Health have supported SOH's meal programs. The Horace Mann School provides an annual in-kind gift of facilities and supportive services.