History

The Horace Mann School established Summer on the Hill in the summer of 1994 in order to share its resources with promising public school students. Horace Mann administrators and Dr. John McIvor, SOH Founder and Executive Director, recruited 21 elementary students from three Bronx public schools for an initial five-week summer session of specialized instruction and recreational activities on the Horace Mann campus.

By the following year, SOH staff decided that students needed more consistent intellectual challenges and organized a Saturday academic year program. The Saturday program began as a morning session of instruction in Math, Science, Language Arts, and Study Skills.

In 2001, Saturday afternoon classes became possible with strong support from Goldman Sachs. The Saturday academic year program, held from 8:30 - 2:00 on 18 Saturdays from October to May, is divided into trimesters of six weeks each. The summer program is now held for six weeks, from 8:30 - 4:30 daily. Free transportation and lunch are provided to facilitate student's participation.

In 1999, as an increasing number of SOH public school students began to make the transition to college preparatory schools, the Post-Placement Program was implemented to maintain the SOH community of support for older students.

In 2005, SOH received its own IRS tax-exempt status but will remain at Horace Mann, with full access to the school's excellent facilities.

Years of Commitment and Growth

Over its eleven-year history, SOH has developed into a comprehensive program serving 185-200 public school students in grades 3 through 8. Supportive services accommodate the needs of both current participants and the program's 150 alumni.

SOH has become one of the most sought-after enrichment programs in New York City. The Director of Recruitment and Admissions collaborates with 90 public schools to recruit children who would benefit from the program. Each year, SOH receives over 300 applications for 36 seats, but we must turn away nine out of every ten applicants because of space limitations.

Our Students

SOH has now served 400 students from the Bronx and upper Manhattan. We welcome boys and girls of all backgrounds. Over 90% of our students represent minority groups (50% Hispanic, 34% African-American, 7% Asian; 9% white) and all are from low-income families. A majority of our students are the first in their families headed for college. A recent sampling of 20 current SOH high school seniors (all of whom have been accepted to college for the fall) and college freshmen showed that 12, or 60%, are first-generation college students.