Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

A Common Humanity, an Inclusive Community 

Rooted in the hallmarks of our founding order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, The Summit embraces the gift of diversity and seeks to cultivate an inclusive community where each individual’s unique attributes are respected and used to strengthen and enhance the larger community in which we live, work, pray and celebrate. We are a multicultural community that enjoys all the blessings and benefits of diversity with a coed student body representing a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic cultures, religious affiliations and nationalities.  

About 40 percent of our student body represent 17 different faith traditions. Ethnic minorities comprise about 30 percent of our student population. We have attracted first- and second-generation families from 22 countries into our multinational community. Each year, more than 175 new students enroll from other private, public and international schools. To ensure that The Summit’s excellent educational opportunities are available to all, tuition assistance is available to qualified families whose children are age 3 through 12. 

Programs to Prepare for the World 
We acknowledge representation is only one indicator of a diverse community. The Summit’s commitment to Diversity & Inclusion starts with professional development for our faculty and staff. In 2016, The Summit joined The National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity), the largest peer-led professional development program in the country. SEED creates conversational communities to drive personal, organizational, and societal change toward greater equity and diversity. Faculty and staff gather on a monthly basis to learn from each other and scholarly sources about topics such as religion, race, oppression, privilege and mental health. In addition to participating in SEED, every year The Summit attends the  Independent Schools Association of the Central States Diversity Summit and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference. 

To prepare our students for the diverse world they inhabit, we develop educational programs that expand our knowledge and understanding of the diversity in our global community and which celebrate the richness of that heritage. Both our Middle and Upper Schools have student Diversity & Inclusion clubs that meet regularly to plan diversity programming and assemblies for the student body. The list of these programs may be found HERE. Every year, we also send Upper School students to NAIS’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Students bring their experience back to Cincinnati by planning and hosting a similar conference for students from area schools who did not have the opportunity to attend NAIS’s conference. Our libraries house an extensive collection  of resources related to diversity themes. The list of those may be found HERE. Throughout the year, our four divisions support mission partners which help underserved, diverse populations. A calendar of our mission events may be found HERE.

A Diverse Curriculum 
In addition to auxiliary programming at The Summit, our curriculum serves as both a mirror and a window for students to see themselves reflected in classroom materials and see the world beyond their own experiences. The books we teach in class which include diversity themes may be found HERE. To align our efforts, we follow the anti-bias curriculum standards in all four divisions and place special emphasis on a particular domain developmentally appropriate to that age group. Along the way, we initiate strategies and support services that respect individual learning styles and build the self‐esteem of each student.