By Hanyu Chen, Bhagya Ramineni, Evlin Nunes and Audrey Vago

Introduction

The Seven Hills Doherty campus is now closing and will eventually be sold to another school. Due to the closing of Doherty, the current Lotspeich building will be expanded to be the new lower school. This article will feature how long it will take, why it is closing, and about the new campus. As Lair Kennedy, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, “The Board conducted a thorough, year-long review of all options, and after extensive discussion, we unanimously decided to move forward with consolidating the campuses.”


Why is it closing?

There are many reasons for the closing of the Doherty campus. The first reason for the closing is the low enrollment rate. The population of Lotspeich is growing so quickly ”Over the past decade, demographic shifts in Cincinnati have resulted in lower enrollment at Doherty and higher demand at Lotspeich,” Mr. Kennedy said. Another reason is to unite the campuses to show a sense of unity. Dr. Bolton believes this is crucial for the future of our school. “A school isn’t about its buildings but its sense of identity, culture, and spirit, like how a family can move to a different house but still have a home,” Dr. Bolton said.


When is it closing, and how long will this take?

The Doherty campus will be closing sometime in 2027. It will be sold to another school, and they have “approximately two-and-a-half years to finalize this process,” said Lair Kennedy. The whole process for all of this will be completed in three years.


What will the new campus be like?

The new campus will be unified, and the new lower school will have a new name that combines Lotspeich and Doherty. They will add on to the Early Childhood Center in the spring of 2025. It will transform the building from an L shape into a U shape by adding another wing. Two years later, in 2027, they will tear down the Briggs and Lotspeich building. They will rebuild it into a two-story building. The new name is still undecided, but it might be a combination of Doherty and Lotspeich. Once the school is finished, each grade will have four classes, this will be different from the current two classes per grade system in Lotspeich. Pre-K would have about ten kids per class. Kindergarten would have twelve per class. Fifth-grade would have sixteen to eighteen students per class. They will also renovate Founders Hall, the cafeteria.

How are they going to do this?

While the new lower school is being built, there is a possibility that Lotspeich students will move over to the Doherty campus. There is a possibility of having temporary buildings like there were during the process of building the new middle school. In the past, The Seven Hills School moved the old Lostiech location from the neighborhood of Clifton to Madisonville, where it is now, so it has been done before. The plan is to take Doherty down and add to the Lotspeich building.


How will we keep the integrity of the school (traditions, community, etc)?

The parents and communities of both schools will discuss what they want to include in the new campus. One example of this is how Doherty was designed for “little people,” it had that sense of homeliness and comfort. According to Dr. Bolton, they wanted to recreate this in the new building. Something that Dr.Bolton said during the interview was when you move houses as a family, it’s still your home, just the location has changed and the family has moved, but they’re still together.


Conclusion

In conclusion, over the past year the decision to close the Doherty campus has been thoroughly thought through with much decision making. The Seven Hills School would like to keep the integrity alive and unify the campuses which will bring the community closer together as a whole. To learn more, go to https://www.7hills.org/about/unification-updates/.