P
romise A Brave Publication Indian Hill Exempted Village School District

Spring 2021

beINFORMED: The Indian Hill School District Faces Critical Needs (pages 6-7)

IHES students dominate the Stock Market Game in Ohio (page 4)

IHHS student in top 6% in country after winning Gold – get the details (page 4)

P&G invests in IHSD’s nationally recognized STEM program – find out how(page 4)

Two IHHS students make national news on NBC – find out why(page 4)

Community members toured the closed section of Indian Hill Middle School as part of the District’s three-year facilities assessment process.

Best season in two decades –spotlight on Indian Hill Field Hockey (page 5)

Welcome Class of 2034!

Kindergarten registration at Indian Hill Primary School is open! If you live within the Indian Hill School District and have an upcoming kindergarten student – become a part of our nationally-ranked school district! #beBRAVE
Indianhillschools.org

Superintendent
A message from our		The ballot issue for May 4 is a
comprehensive plan to fix these issues and continue our commitment to excellent education. This is a historic
Brave future that will
As the Superintendent of the Indian Hill School District,	opportunity to design a I’m addressing you as a valued partner in the education of
sustain generations
our children. We need to have a conversation that is critical to maintain our excellent educational services.

to come.
Our needs are real and well-researched. For the past three years, our District has engaged in a public process to investigate and define what is essential.

Four committees of parents, staff, students, and community members dedicated countless hours to this important work, ultimately recommending to our Board of Education that we – as a District – need a bond and operating levy to maintain our top-tier quality of education.

Right now, Indian Hill is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 7 in the country according to Niche; ranked No. 5 in the state by U.S. News and World Report; and has been a “Best Communities for Music Education” the past six consecutive years.

World-class education – this is what we offer to our students now, and that is what we will strive to continue for future generations.

Our District is an exceptional value – we offer nationally-ranked programs at the lowest tax rate within Hamilton County. In fact, our last operational levy was more than 25 years ago. While the District has done an excellent job of managing expenditures, the inflation of expenses continues to outpace District revenue.

Our stakeholders also researched and recommended that we make security upgrades at all of our facilities and replace Indian Hill Middle School, which was originally constructed in the 1960s.

Over the last 60 years, our maintenance team has done an excellent job of caring for the building, but serious structural issues have forced sections to be closed to students. The District is in a constant state of expensive repair work to patch a flat roof that is the equivalent of three football fields in size.

The ballot issue for May 4 is a comprehensive plan to fix these issues and continue our commitment to excellent education. This is a historic opportunity to design a Brave future that will sustain generations to come.

Please contact me directly with any questions.

In service to our children,

Indian Hill School District #7 in the country!

Kirk Koennecke Superintendent
Indian Hill School District Kirk.Koennecke@indianhillschools.org
@ihsuperbrave

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camera at the QR codes
highlighting our world-

What makes us UNIQUELY INDIAN HILL?	Point your smartphone
Unparalleled opportunities in academics,	to access video stories the arts, and athletics.	class programs!

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Small Class Size Counts

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	As a District, our student to teacher ratio is 11.6 to one.

Experienced & Award-Winning Faculty

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	Within our faculty, 90 percent of our educators have earned earned a Master’s degree or higher.

Global Competence

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	Our Indian Hill Global Parent Network - which represents 40 different nationalities within the District - assists the District in planning unique, age-appropriate learning activities for our students, like our annual Global Cultural Week.

Nationally Recognized Music Education Program

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	For six consecutive years, the Indian Hill School District has been named an award recipient of the National Association of Music Merchant’s Best
Communities for Music Education. Indian Hill was one of only 754 districts in the country to earn this recognition this year. More than 400 students perform with our orchestra, band, and choir at Indian Hill High School and Indian Hill Middle School, and our music education program begins with our youngest scholars.

STEM Celebration with IHHS

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	Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national organization that provides programs in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science -designated Indian Hill High School (IHHS) as a 2019-2020 Distinguished School. Indian Hill High School was one of 143 PLTW high school programs across the country to receive recognition.

The Indian Hill High School Experience

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	Indian Hill High School is home to 28 Advanced Placement courses; AP Capstone; and an award-winning team of five counselors supporting our Braves through the college application process.

Brave Virtual Academy

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	Brave Virtual Academy (BVA) is our new learning option for Indian Hill families wanting to study in a flexible, online environment. Our priority in BVA is to make sure that you, your child, and our educators work together to build a world-class learning environment for students.
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Unparalleled Opportunities Braves Make Headlines

Four Indian Hill Elementary School Teams Earn Top 10 in State for Stock Market Game!

	Indian Hill Elementary School (IHES) students continue to take the lead in investing! The Indian Hill School District is proud to share that four IHES teams placed within the top 10 in the state during the annual Stock Market Game sponsored by the non-profit Alpaugh Family Economics Center, University of Cincinnati. The students who placed in the top 10 included: Third Place - Ellie White, Emma Prada, Shalili Shah; Seventh Place - Ellie Pedrick; Ninth Place -Leo Chen, Amani Williams, Elsa Trout, Claire Bergstrom; 10th Place - Saanvi Shrivastav, Samantha Kettler, Neve Seaman-Kossmeyer.

WORLD COMPETITION BOUND!

ACADEMICS
IHHS students Kunal Ranjan, Krish Ranjan, Euan Ji, Nathan Padhy, Arjun Verma, and Jack Brunner created a cleaning robot which autonomously sanitizes desks with the help of a UV light, killing germs and viruses including COVID-19. They WON the Robotics Online Challenge sponsored by Google and are headed to the WORLD COMPETITION!

Indian Hill High School Senior Earns Exclusive Gold Award

IHHS senior Lauren Elizabeth Sewell ranked in the top six percent of Girl Scouts in the nation by earning the Gold Award Project. Sewell dedicated focused service efforts through all Indian Hill School District buildings through the Pop Tab Collection Program with the Ronald McDonald House (earning the Silver Award Project). She most recently worked with Stepping Stones, a non-profit United Way partner agency offering year-round programs to people who have disabilities, to earn her Gold Award recognition.

Indian Hill High School Robotics Students Earn P&G Grant

Indian Hill High School (IHHS) congratulates the IHHS Robotics Team for earning a $900 grant from P&G. The funds will allow students to invest in supplies to expand and improve the Robotics Team by purchasing needed supplies, increasing student involvement, and allowing for further outreach to Indian Hill Middle
School students in order to promote involvement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national organization that provides programs in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science, designated Indian Hill High School as a 2019-2020 Distinguished School. Indian Hill High School, in partnership with Great Oaks, was one of 143 PLTW high school programs across the country to receive recognition.

Making National Headlines

NBC Today Show put the spotlight on Indian Hill High School student Sophie Chabris and her Corona Care Callers Program. The program uses a volunteer force made up of Indian Hill High School students who host virtual, weekly meetings with younger Brave Virtual Academy students to keep them connected.

Indian Hill Student Poll Worker Interviewed

Indian Hill High School senior Vandita Rastogi was interviewed by NBC Nightly News as part of a special report the network produced about students volunteering at the polls during the November 2020 election to help protect elderly election volunteers due to COVID-19.

Indian Hill Primary School Literacy Night Goes Virtual

More than 345 families packed a “virtual building” each evening to participate in Indian Hill Primary School’s third annual Literacy Night. Using a Google site, local authors joined teachers to give families tools for fun, engaging, literacy-building ideas for home. Students and their parents connected with the organizers and each other through Zoom sessions.

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Congratulations to Overture Awards 2021 Semi-Finalists

IHHS junior Claire Hardek (Vocal Music)

IHHS senior John Kushman (Theater)

Meet IHMS Student-Author Lillie Waltz

She turned quarantine into an opportunity to pursue her writing passion. Her novel, And Then I Came Along, has earned Indian Hill Middle School eighth grade student-author Lillie Waltz a Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award. That is not where this young writer’s story ends. Waltz is working to get this already award-winning 60,000-word novel published!

Taking Her Talents to International Competitions

ARTS
IHHS junior Marianna Narita traveled to Japan in October to compete as a finalist in the Osaka International Music Competition. She was also selected to participate in the London-based Friend’s International Violin Academy, described as an intensive learning experience for the most gifted violinists.

The Spotlight is on an Indian Hill High School Singing Brave!

The spotlight is on IHHS sophomore Joseph Kayne, as the singing Brave has taken center stage after earning second place in NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing). “When I was 11-years old, I starred in Aladdin and this sparked my passion for singing and theatre in general,” said Kayne.

IHHS Student Accepted into CSO Nouveau Program

We congratulate Indian Hill High School sophomore Emery Cunningham on her acceptance into the prestigious CSO Nouveau Program! We are so proud of this Indian Hill Orchestra leader!

Committed: IHHS Student-Athletes are College-Bound

Congratulations to IHHS student-athletes who have committed to continue both academic and athletic careers in college:

ATHLETICS
Bella Kirby - Tennis - Xavier University Sara Schumann - Sailing - Boston College
Charlie DiGennaro - Lacrosse - Jacksonville University Will Klekamp - Football - Washington University Charlie Sumerel - Football - Washington University

Cameron Rabenold - Lacrosse - Babson Harris Foad - Wrestling - Washington & Lee
Grant Lanham - Football - University of Virginia Luke Hammond - Baseball - Arizona State University
Zoe Hindman - Soccer - Stevens Institute of Technology

Shout Out to our IHHS Cheer Team

After winning the UCA Regional Championship they advance to Nationals at Disney in April!

Congratulations to IHHS Girls Tennis for Finishing
THIRD IN STATE!

STATE FINAL FOUR: IHHS Field Hockey

As a team, Indian Hill High School Field Hockey defeated St. Ursula Academy, Ursuline Academy, and Mount Notre Dame in the OHSAA field hockey tournament to advance to the OHSAA State FINAL FOUR. It was their best season in 20 years!

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beINFORM
FROM THE COVER:	ED

May 4, 2021 Bond/Operating Levy FACTS

The Indian Hill School District will have a 5.43 mill combined operating levy and bond issue on the May 4, 2021 ballot. The operating levy will provide dollars for daily operations and a bond issue to meet critical District needs within our facilities, including the replacement of Indian Hill Middle School and security upgrades throughout the District.

Niche Ranking #7
in the country!

Ranked #1 in the state!

The estimated cost of the May 4 ballot issue is approximately

$190.05/year

per $100,000 of property market value per the County Auditor’s website.

More than 25 years

since IH passed an operating levy

1.74 mills
of school taxes dropped off in 2019

Due to excellent fiscal management of the last bond issue – structuring the refinancing of bonds achieved taxpayer savings of $8.5 million.

1.4 mills will be reduced in 2027

<5%

State Educational Funding

The Indian Hill School District tax rate =

Indian Hill receives minimal
educational funding from the state.

LOWEST IN HAMILTON
COUNTY

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If we are unable

to pass both the bond and operating levies, buildings will continue to deteriorate, which results in even higher costs in the future.

Indian

Hill Middle School was constructed in the
1960s, and despite regular maintenance, structural issues have forced sections closed. Further, crews are in a constant state of repair to patch a flat roof that is the equivalent of three football fields in size.

If the levy passes, the District can meet the operational and capital needs to maintain excellence.

If the levy fails in May, the District would need to consider district-wide cuts and reductions.

For more information, visit www.indianhillschools.org	7

Indian Hill Exempted Village School District Board of Education
(Left to Right) Elizabeth Johnston, Member; Nancy Aichholz,VP of Operations;
Dr. Eddie Hooker, President; Kim Martin Lewis,VP of Finance; Niki Singh, Member

CHL CHAMPS!

DISTRICT CHAMPS!

Indian Hill Exempted Village School District 6855 Drake Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243
(513) 272-4500

facebook.com/indianhillschools @ihschools
Indianhillschools

indianhillschools.org The Indian Hill Exempted Village School District serves students
in the Village of Indian Hill, Kenwood, parts of Sycamore and Symmes Township, Camp Dennison and a small portion of Loveland.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Cincinnati, OH Permit No. 197