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This issue of the magazine focuses on two programs designed to engage students more fully and to help them understand the world around them.

The Upper School’s Civic Engagement Seminars, which were funded in 2019 by a Leadership Grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, were designed to deepen our students’ understanding of some of the most pressing issues facing our world. In a similar vein, our rich world language program has been refocused to help students acquire not only functional competence in a second language but also a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultures and customs from around the world.

In truth, though, these two programs are only a small part of a complex matrix of activities that help prepare students for engaged and informed citizenship. Seven Hills mission statement commits the school to “engage hearts and minds” and to help prepare each of our students “for a meaningful role in a rapidly changing world.” Similarly, our Commitment to Diversity, Equity,

Christopher P. Garten HEAD OF SCHOOL

and Inclusion expresses our desire to help students “explore the rich diversity of human experience” and to “deepen [their] understanding of the world.”

As part of our focus on civic engagement, over the last decade, several of the school’s academic departments have adopted new content and embraced new pedagogies in order to help students engage with contemporary global challenges.

The school’s social studies and history programs have evolved considerably to focus, even more intentionally, on helping students, at all levels, understand the most compelling issues facing their community, their nation, and the world at large. In the Middle School, students study world geography in the sixth grade, U.S. history in the seventh grade, and modern European history in the eighth grade. The Upper School history department has introduced a new Advanced Placement world history course in the 10th grade as well as a series of electives focused on contemporary global challenges. Current offerings include yearlong courses in global issues since

1945 and an interdisciplinary environmental studies course. In addition, the department offers a variety of semester electives in economics, post-modern America since 1968, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, the Cold War in Europe, African American studies, and gender studies.

Similarly, under the leadership of department chair Mark Beyreis, the English department has made a conscious effort to feature texts which immerse students, even more fully, in the lived experience of people from all over our nation and from the world beyond. At each grade level, the reading lists have been expanded to include texts which provide “windows and mirrors” into the rich diversity of human experience and deepen students’ understanding of the world.

Beyond the formal curriculum, several co-curricular experiences also aim to enrich students’ understanding of the global community. Each year, the Middle School offers two annual special events, Global Education Day and Asia Day, to expose students to the rich cultural diversity of our planet. In addition, as part of a world religions unit, students visit several local museums and cultural centers to deepen their understanding of various faith traditions. A new sixth grade course called It's Your World is designed to teach study skills by engaging students in researching and developing positions on a host of contemporary issues.

The Upper School’s Civic Engagement Seminars, which ran for three full school days in January and February, help students explore significant challenges in five broad categories: social justice, the environment, politics and government, public health, and global issues. Many of these seminars, which were team taught by Upper School teachers, also involve field trips or field study as well as interactions with experts from governmental and social service agencies.

Moreover, two very popular May Term courses explore issues of social justice: Guilty Until Proven Innocent studies wrongful convictions in the American justice system, and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Immersion

Trip explores the history of a diasporic Black community located off the coast of South Carolina.

Beyond this, in just this last year, several students have opted to devote their Personal Challenge projects to exploring solutions to complex social problems, including: fieldwork with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society; studying transgender experiences in other countries; processing policy solutions for sustainability, poverty, or climate change; journaling on the life of a refugee; or producing a documentary on hate crimes.

Seven Hills makes a considerable effort to prepare our students for informed and engaged global citizenship. And we take great pride in the fact that so many of our graduates — and, indeed, our current students — are committed to devoting their talents to understanding and improving the world around them.

Matt Bolton Named The Next Head Of School

THE TRANSITION WILL TAKE PLACE ON JULY 1, 2024. UNTIL THAT TIME, BOLTON WILL CONTINUE AS THE HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL AND ASSUME THE NEW TITLE HEAD OF SCHOOL-ELECT.

“I’m delighted to congratulate Matt on his appointment as the next Head of School,” said Seven Hills Board Chair Steve Baggott. “We were fortunate to have had a very strong field of finalists, and after an extremely comprehensive process, with engagement across the Seven Hills community, Matt emerged as the clear choice.”

The search committee recommended Bolton to the board after an extensive global search process, which began in September 2022 after Garten announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The committee worked closely with RG175, a leading search firm for independent school heads and administrators, to review dozens of applications, interview 10 semi-finalists, and welcome four finalists to visit the Seven Hills campuses in April.

“Matt brings an intimate understanding of Seven Hills, allowing for a seamless transition over the coming year,” said Lair Kennedy, search committee co-chair and Board of Trustee chair-elect. “This will allow Matt to continue the many successful initiatives and programs led by Chris Garten and his team, which have put the school in such a strong position.”

“We were fortunate to have had a very strong field of finalists, and after an extremely comprehensive process, with engagement across the Seven Hills community, Matt emerged as the clear choice ”

Bolton joined Seven Hills as the head of Upper School in 2014. Under his leadership, the school has expanded its STEM offerings, increased the experiential learning program, and added a learning support department.

Bolton has worked with teachers and department chairs to establish more than 20 new courses, including engineering, entrepreneurship, and a Chinese language sequence.

Schoolwide, Bolton has been deeply involved in drafting an updated mission statement and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a new strategic plan, and assisting in a series of building projects.

“I am deeply honored to have been named Head of School. Seven Hills is a remarkable school that truly lives out its mission of engaging students' hearts and minds. I've loved my time in the Upper School, and I'm excited to connect with students, teachers, and families in Doherty, Lotspeich, and Middle, as well as with our alumni and supporters. I'm likewise eager to partner with our Board of Trustees and leadership team in the valuable work they are doing on behalf of our school. We are an incredible community, and there are so many opportunities for learning and growth ahead of us,” Bolton said.

“ Matt brings an intimate understanding of Seven Hills, allowing for a seamless transition over the coming year. This will allow Matt to continue the many successful initiatives and programs led by Chris Garten and his team, which have put the school in such a strong position.”

Before coming to Seven Hills, Bolton served as dean of academics, dean of students, and an English teacher at Loyola School in New York City for 15 years. He has a B.A. in English from Binghamton University, a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in English from The City University of New York, and two M.S.Ed. degrees from Fordham University in English education and educational administration and supervision.

He has also taught sixth grade as part of Teach for America, English as a second language in Okayama, Japan, and collegiate level classes in English and literature at The City University of New York, The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and New York University.

He has presented several times at the annual conferences of National Association of Independent Schools and Independent Schools Association of the Central States and has been published in a variety of academic and professional journals.

Search Committee Co-Chair Angie Apple said, in survey responses from various Seven Hills stakeholders, Bolton was the only candidate who met all the personal characteristics: warmth and empathy, intellect, communication skills, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and unquestioned integrity.

Garten echoed those sentiments, adding, “I am thrilled that, after such an extensive process, the board has aligned on Matt as Seven Hills’ next leader. In his nine years here, Matt has helped make Seven Hills the top college preparatory school in Ohio. He has a clear and compelling vision for the continuing evolution of this school and a deep respect for the unique and precious culture of the Seven Hills community.”

Understanding The World Outside The Clas Sroom Through Civic Engagement

IN THE FIELD HOUSE, THE STUDENTS IN THE NUTRITION AND EXERCISE SEMINAR LED A GROUP OF LOTSPEICH STUDENTS IN A ZUMBA CLASS. IN THE YOUNG FAMILY LIBRARY, STUDENTS IN THE WASTED WORLD SEMINAR ASKED SEVEN HILLS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER/CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER LYNN KROEGER HOW SEVEN HILLS IS USING GREEN ENERGY TO REDUCE ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT ...

In The Schiff Center theater classroom, members of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office explained their efforts fighting the opioid crisis in Dayton with students in the Addiction and Community seminar. While in The Schiff Center auditorium, four social justice seminars brainstormed advocacy ideas with Rev. Derek Terry.

All Upper School students took part in one of 17 Civic Engagement Seminars over two days based around five categories: social justice, environment, politics and government, public health, and global issues.

“These seminars are about all of us changing, in some way, our understanding of the world, our understanding of our place in it, and our understanding of our agency in the world. Imagine if all of us leave these seminars with just a little bit of difference in how we view ourselves and our world and what we can do,” Director of Experiential Learning Karen Glum told the Upper School students during an allschool meeting before the first day of the seminars.

Glum’s words became true for sophomore Anna Kunkel, who chose Coming to America: Immigration in the 21st Century as her seminar because she has always been interested in going into immigration or international law.

“I gained a greater appreciation for both immigrants working toward citizenship and the lawyers and facilities supporting them,” Kunkel said, adding her biggest takeaway was learning how extensive and uncompromising the immigration process can be. “The experience has helped solidify my desire to pursue immigration law and bring my attention to the profound influence of immigrants in Greater Cincinnati,” Kunkel said.

The Origins Of Civic Engagement Seminars

While Feb. 8, 2023, concluded the Civic Engagement Seminars for the 2022-23 school year, the planning, fundraising, and organizing for the seminars began back in 2018.

“We started May Terms, for which we received a grant from the E.E. Ford Foundation. We reported back on that. It went well. There were things about it we really liked and the foundation did too,” said Nick Francis, who was the director of experiential learning at the time of its inception.

May Terms Intensives are week-long courses held the week after final exams in May that focus on different topics each year, like animal behavior, digital storytelling, science fiction writing, the history of the Civil Rights Movement, and health and nutrition.

Francis, Head of School Chris Garten, and Head of Upper School Matt Bolton were exploring the idea of creating a program similar to May Terms.

“We were looking at the idea of pulling kids together to make better use of the city and learn things outside of the traditional curriculum,” Bolton said. “This idea kept emerging, of wanting to expose kids to the most pressing issues of contemporary life that we think they are going to have to continue to grapple with as they move out of high school and into college and beyond.”

Francis and Bolton worked with the faculty to conceptualize the idea of how to delve into important issues that were possibly not on the students’ radars or addressed in the curriculum. That was when they landed on the five categories: social justice, environment, politics and government, public health, and global issues.

“We wanted things that would be wide reaching and really cross-curricular and that would not be limited to a short news cycle. It wouldn’t be something that maybe we think is important now but it falls out of the picture in a year or two,” Bolton said.

They brought the idea to the E.E. Ford Foundation and in late March 2019, Seven Hills was selected to receive an Educational Leadership Grant of $250,000. These grants are awarded to generative, transformational, and replicable programs that give a public purpose to private education. At the time, only 38 of the grants had been awarded to some of the leading schools in the country.

Seven Hills used the funding to develop the Civic Engagement Seminars.

“The ultimate goal of the program is to equip students with the tools to think globally and act locally and to find ways to become more actively engaged in innovative problem solving, including valuable work being done by many of Cincinnati’s cultural and social service institutions,” Garten was quoted saying in the Cincinnati Enquirer on April 15, 2019.

In addition to Bolton and Francis, Assistant Head of School Susan Marrs and current Upper School teachers Marc Raia, Kylie Utah, Brian Wabler, and Anna Works-McKinney, and former teachers Ann Griep and Marielle Newton worked on the initial planning.

After the matching grant was awarded, Francis brought the idea to the faculty at large. He asked them for topics they would be interested in running, explaining that they did not need to be expert in the topics because they could bring in outside