Mission

At Summer on the Hill, we cultivate tomorrow’s leaders by enriching the education of low-income, public school students from The Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights. Our mission is to bridge the opportunity gap by equipping bright, motivated, young people with the resources and support system to achieve their full potential. Our project-based curriculum and guidance help prepare students for selective schools and success beyond.

The Need for SOH

Bright Bronx students have few opportunities to enroll in public school gifted and talented programs. A review of the NYC DOE’s 2015-16 programs for Gifted and Talented (G&T) students found striking differences in opportunities at the elementary level:

• The Bronx has 131 elementary schools and only 7 G&T Programs.

• Brooklyn has 215 elementary schools and 28 G&T Programs.

• Manhattan has 108 elementary schools and 22 G&T Programs.

• Queens has 197 elementary schools and 29 G&T Programs.

• Staten Island has 44 elementary schools and 7 G&T Programs.

At the High School level, SAT prep classes, college counseling, and college visits are often too expensive for low-income families. SOH’s High School Program helps students prepare for college admissions exams and offers an array of college-readiness workshops and programs..

A Record of Success

Attendance has remained consistently above 90%, which is remarkable given that our programs are voluntary, held outside of regular school hours, and require local travel. Attendance for our 2023 program was 97%, demonstrating the commitment of our young students and their families.

In 2024, our rising ninth graders gained admission to prestigious college preparatory high schools, including Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School, The Chapin School, The Dalton School, Horace Mann School, Riverdale Country School, Stuyvesant High School, and St. Raymond Academy. We placed middle school students at independent schools such as De La Salle Academy, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Horace Mann School, and The Masters School.

Our high school participants reported acceptance to outstanding colleges and universities, including Bowdoin, Colgate, Cornell, Lehman, Mercy, Mount Holyoke, and NYU. 

During the COVID pandemic, the Pinkerton Foundation acknowledged the success of our remote programming by awarding SOH two consecutive $25,000 leadership grants.

Former Executive Director Markell Parker was one of only fifteen “exceptional leaders of color in the youth development field” to be chosen to join the Pinkerton Advanced Leadership Network, “designed to offer participants space, support and professional development opportunities to sharpen their skills and accelerate their impact on youth programming.”

“I am a medical student at Drexel. A huge part of my journey was participating in Summer on the Hill from grades 3-8 and I am sure I would not be here without the tools and guidance SOH provided. Being from the Bronx and raised by a single mother, medical school was never even a thought but SOH gave me the confidence to succeed and dream big.”