Issuu

CAMPAIGN FOR

Seven Hills engages hearts and minds, guiding students to cultivate their unique capabilities and preparing each for a meaningful role in a rapidly changing world.

ad summum, “to the highes In 1906, Miss Mary Harlan Doherty founded the College Preparatory School for Girls, fondly known as CPS.

THE PROGRAM TO ENDOW

THE CAMPAIGN FOR SEVEN HILLS

THE PROGRAM FOR UPPER SCHOOL

Late 70s-Early 80s

Late 80s-Early 90s

1993-1995

$2.6 million

$8.4 million

$1.4 million

For scholarships, facility updates, faculty development

For endowment, scholarships, facility updates, faculty development

For Upper and Middle School needs

est point”

Mrs. Helen Gibbons Lotspeich founded the Clifton Open-Air School. In 1928, community leaders founded the Hillsdale School as an alternative private education. These three institutions merged to form Seven Hills.

CAMPAIGN FOR ONE AND ALL

CRITICAL ASSETS CAMPAIGN

BUILD.CONNECT.INSPIRE. THE CAMPAIGN FOR SEVEN HILLS

1997-2001

2005-2011

2012-2022

$25.5 million

$17.5 million

$40 million

For a new Upper School, Donovan Arts Center, Haile Hall

For endowed faculty salaries, scholarships, faculty development, programs

For the Nellie Leaman Taft Early Childhood Center, the Doherty Campus playground, the Field House, two new athletic fields, six tennis courts, The Schiff Center, and the expansion and renovation of the Middle School

ONE SCHOOL, FORMED FROM THREE The foundation of Seven Hills stands upon the legacies of three revolutionary institutions. The legacies of these schools live on in name and in the child-centered approach to teaching and learning at our core. Miss Doherty’s and Mrs. Lotspeich’s philosophies are woven into the fabric of our school, lived out by the teachers who engage our students’ hearts and minds each day.

CAMPAIGN FOR ONE CAMPUS. ONE COMMUNITY. ONE SEVEN HILLS.

OUR MISSION DRIVES

2024

COMMUNITY. ONE

THE ONE CAMPUS. ONE SEVEN HILLS. CAMPAIGN.

$37.7 million For the expansion of the Nellie Leaman Taft Early Childhood Center, a new Lower School building, and the renovation of Founders Hall

THIS CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT HONORING OUR PAST AND ENSURING OUR FUTURE — TOGETHER.

REIMAGINING ONE SCHOOL Building a new home for Lower School, uniting our identity across divisions. For five decades, operating on two campuses has served the school well and built rich communities of learning. Both the Doherty and Hillsdale campuses have nurtured and developed strong leaders of character, who embody our values of excellence, respect, and commitment to community. As our community grows and we look ahead to the next 50 years, we have a rare opportunity to bring our strengths together on one campus and build a world-class program through multiage learning, outdoor education, and spaces that support project-based learning and play-based learning. The campaign for One Campus. One Community. One Seven Hills. expands on Miss Doherty’s and Mrs. Lotspeich’s enduring, bold visions and empowers us to meet the demands of a rapidly changing educational landscape.

commitment to community

engaging hearts & minds

Unifying to Elevate Through a significant capital investment, we will strengthen each student’s educational experience through: • The creation of a “community within a community” on the north end of campus, an intentionally designed early childhood and lower school hub that nurtures connection, belonging, and growth.

•G uided self-discovery, empowering students to pursue electives of choice. •P roject-based and play-based learning, developing critical thinking and collaboration. •P urpose-built spaces for specials to immerse students in the subject matter.

•O utdoor learning in natural areas throughout our ecologically diverse campus. •F ocus on multiage learning, encouraging children to learn from one another and lead.

Red Bank Expressway LOWER SCHOOL Leyman Science Center

Field House Ellmarie Dr.

Meckel Building EARLY CHILDHOOD

Red Barn

Donovan Arts Center

Founders Hall

MIDDLE SCHOOL

UPPER SCHOOL

Red Bank Rd.

Creating Community within a Community The One Campus. One Community. One Seven Hills. campaign affords the school the opportunity to not only build new child-centered spaces but also reimagine the layout of our campus. Students will begin their educational journey in Early Childhood and Lower School, on the north end of campus, bordered by natural areas, with just a short walk to shared state-of-the-art facilities, like the Field House and The Schiff Center. While our youngest learners will spend most of their days in engaging, age-appropriate learning spaces, they will also be connected to the richness of our entire campus.

Connecting our Campus with Nature The Hillsdale Campus is set upon rolling hills, with 300-year-old oaks, nature trails, and a creek — a setting where students and teachers alike can be inspired by nature, every day. Evidence shows that access to nature fuels creativity, engages the senses, and enhances student health and well-being. As we define our Early Childhood and Lower School programming, we are thoughtfully weaving in natural elements like:

• Outdoor classrooms • Outdoor stages • Nature trails • Pollinator gardens • “Farm to table” gardens • Playscapes built from natural elements

uniting our collective expertise

ADDITION

ECC

EXISTING ECC

In this aerial rendering of the expanded Taft Early Childhood Center, the left side of the rendering shows the addition that is slated to be completed in 2026.

The existing Taft ECC, which opened in 2015, was designed to be expanded, so this addition seamlessly integrates with the existing building.

EXPANSION OF THE NELLIE LEAMAN TAFT EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER Growing our enriching early childhood program The Nellie Leaman Taft Early Childhood Center (ECC) is nestled on the north end of the Hillsdale Campus, the starting point of a student’s Seven Hills journey. With winding paths and a gated, natural playscape for outdoor exploration, discovery — in a safe, nurturing environment — is around every corner. By spring 2026, the ECC will welcome a new addition featuring six play-based pre-kindergarten classrooms, a flexible multipurpose room, and dedicated spaces that support students, families, and faculty. Thanks to the campaign for One Campus. One Community. One Seven Hills., this expansion is now coming to life.

expanding child centered spaces

ECC

ADDITION

EXISTING ECC

EARLY CHILDHOOD ADDITION Purposeful space will be added for students to interact during specials and between transitions throughout the day.

enriching social opportunities ECC

EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSROOM Six additional classrooms will be added in a separate wing, pictured on the left. These new classrooms adopt and enhance key design elements of the existing classrooms.

play-based learning

EARLY CHILDHOOD CORRIDOR

ECC

THE DOHERTY LOTSPEICH LOWER SCHOOL Defining our Lower School program through built and natural spaces Long before the plan to unify, our Lower School educators have been working to align curriculum between our two Lower School programs and live out our educational philosophy. Now, teachers, administrators, students and parents have an opportunity like never before — designing a brand-new Lower School in a location that does not limit our program but instead enhances it. Thanks to the visionary leadership of the Seven Hills Board of Trustees, the school now owns the land beyond the Field House, ECC, and Ellmarie Drive — the future home of the Doherty Lotspeich Lower School. This wooded, bucolic setting is an extension of the classroom, both honoring the legacy of Mrs. Lotspeich and her Clifton Open-Air School and supporting our commitment to outdoor education outlined in our Strategic Plan 2025-2030.

FRONT ENTRY Set back on Ellmarie Drive, adjacent to the Field House, the Doherty Lotspeich Lower School will have ample parking for parents to walk their children into school.

Around the Lower School building, a landscape of trees, meadows, and trails support our burgeoning outdoor learning program.

OUTDOOR LEARNING

SCIENCE WING LS

The science and specials wings enable teachers to design powerful lessons that encourage students to explore and move throughout the day.

SPECIALS WING

building communities within communities

NEST Units are multiage learning groups that have been a cornerstone at Doherty for decades. In the new Lower School, each Unit will have their own Nest — an age appropriate space curated for them by their teachers and librarian.

inspiring students to be creators and makers

LOWER SCHOOL COMMONS LS

A library brimming with books opens up both to the learning stair and to the outdoors.

A stunning staircase doubles as a learning stair, where students can work collaboratively, join each other for class meetings, or work independently.

LEARNING STAIR

LOWER SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM With natural light flooding in and ample wall space to display student work, students and teachers have flexible classroom spaces that encourage project-based learning, 21

CAFETERIA

OUTDOOR DINING LS

At the Doherty Lotspeich Lower School, kindergarten through fifth grade students and teachers will have a dedicated Lower School cafeteria, with an option for outdoor dining.

This cafeteria has a ripple effect — the additional dining space reduces the strain across all divisions to balance lunch schedules in Founders Hall and further establishes the “campus within a campus” setting for the Lower School.

guided self-discovery

FOUNDERS HALL

future FH

student health and well-being REIMAGINING THE HEART OF CAMPUS Enriching student life across all ages by redefining Founders Hall and Hillsdale Commons Situated at the heart of the Hillsdale Campus, Founders Hall is one building that students and teachers from multiple divisions traverse daily. To meet the needs of our student body after unification — with two cafeterias bustling on campus — Founders will undergo renovations that will modernize the kitchen and enhance the popular “Grab & Go” station. The Hillsdale Commons will then be transformed into a state-of-the-art workout facility for the entire campus. The Commons is perfectly nestled next to Kalnow Gym and the existing weight room, which will become a dedicated space for our varsity athletes.

the heart of campus

The updated workout facility will support student and faculty interest in health and wellness, while offering our teams a newly dedicated space to train and condition.

WORKOUT FACILITY

connecting students and teammates HC

building one campus,

one community,

“The Campaign for One Campus. One Community. One Seven Hills. is our moment to reimagine our campus and invest intentionally in the future of our students. By unifying and strengthening the programs that define us, we are ensuring that Seven Hills remains a place of selfdiscovery, strong community, and engaged learning.” - Matthew Bolton, Ph.D., Head of The Seven Hills School

one Seven Hills

JOIN US IN THE CAMPAIGN FOR

ONE CAMPUS. ONE COMMUNITY. ONE SEVEN HILLS. Contact Director of Development Margo Kirstein margo.kirstein@7hills.org 513.728.2437