The Summit Country Day School

The Summit has been a school of choice since 1890 for families in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky who value academic excellence and character development. Private, Catholic and independent, The Summit is a leader in early childhood education. Students thrive in a Montessori preschool and are enriched by a college preparatory program through high school.

For more than a century, The Summit Country Day School has maintained a proud legacy of excellence in independent, Catholic education. We offer a superb coeducational learning experience to students from Montessori preschool through grade 12 from throughout the metropolitan Cincinnati area. A nationally recognized leader in character education, The Summit offers a compelling combination of small classes, caring faculty, academic rigor, and strong spiritual values.

We view ourselves as stewards of God’s creation and we partner with parents to develop each child into a well-rounded human being. Other schools may focus their efforts on helping children get into a good college successfully, but our goal is to develop children who can not only navigate college successfully but go on to succeed in life. Our alumni are equipped with the skills and the global perspective to improve the world they inherit. The evident success of The Summit Way is measurable and continues to attract discerning Cincinnati families to our doors.

While we can point to many measurable standards of The Summit’s continuing and lasting success, we do not believe ratings are what is most important or what distinguishes Summit from other schools. We believe how the school helps to develop each and every child is paramount. Evident success with one child compels parents of other children to seek out a Summit education for their progeny.

Catholic Context in the Notre Dame Tradition – Our role model in life is Jesus Christ, who calls each one of us to lead lives of love, leadership and service to others. These values guide the character development of the children in our care. In addition, we respect, embrace, and learn from other faith traditions. The legacy of the Sisters is a thread that runs through the fabric of this school and distinguishes Summit from all other secular schools in town.

Each and Every Child – The fundamental principle behind a Notre Dame education is developing a well-rounded child. The five pillars (academic, spiritual, physical, social and artistic) define key areas to be developed. Within those areas, teachers, staff, and coaches teach the skills, behaviors, and knowledge required for long term success. They seek to know, understand, and love each and every child. This core ideology helps our students reach their full potential and distinguishes Summit from the mass education schools in town.

High Expectations – Much is expected from all those who are fortunate to be a part of the Summit community. An undercurrent of excellence flows around all that we do. Our motto is “Aim High,” and that applies to all people and activities on campus. This approach to life and to educating children is what guides teachers and coaches to bring out the best in every child. Few schools in Cincinnati are as exacting and demanding as the Summit Country Day School.

Innovation – People sometimes joke that nothing ever changes at Summit, but history shows that to be a false perception. From the days of the Sisters to today, Summit identifies changing circumstances, researches best practice, experiments with ways to address change, analyzes the results, keeps what works, and discards what doesn’t. Naturally, the professional development of our faculty is a high priority. No conventional educational theory describes how Summit helps children grow in grace and wisdom. Though our teaching style is eclectic, the resulting approach to educating students is unique, innovative and has stood the test of time.

The success of The Summit Way is evident. Our alumni are equipped with the skills and the global perspective to improve the world they inherit. As long as we remain true to these hallmarks of a great education, Summit will last for the next 120 years and beyond.

The mission of The Summit Country Day School is to challenge every student, faculty and staff member to share fully the gifts that have been given to them by God; to grow in grace and wisdom; to develop spiritually, academically, physically, socially and artistically; and to become leaders of character who value and improve the world they inherit.