“Working together is its fundamental idea – of men with God, of men with prophets, leaders, and teachers, of men with one another, of men’s intelligence with the forces of nature. It teaches only such uses of authority as are necessary to secure the cooperation of several or many people to one end; and the discipline it advocates is training in development of cooperative goodwill.”

These words, first uttered in 1926 by Harvard President Emeritus Charles Eliot at Belmont Hill’s commencement address, became the calling card of our culture. Working Together encapsulates our mission to ensure all boys experience a sense of belonging. Belmont Hill has always known that working together across differences is a critical skill for success in life. It fosters empathy and self-awareness  essential to the development of boys. 

This ideal of Working Together is embodied on campus through Accountability, Brotherhood, and Gratitude:

Accountability speaks to our culture, as boys here learn to be accountable for their words and deeds. This is exhibited in the academic standards of the School but also in the context of discipline, where we believe clear boundaries and expectations allow our students to thrive. I see this in traditions like Saturday detentions for boys, but more importantly in the dozens of conversations happening between boys and faculty every day on campus.

Brotherhood does not always have a positive connotation out in the world, but it does on this campus. It is difficult to describe the depth of the bonds that are formed here and codified through the experience of being a senior. Time and again we come back to the idea of looking out for our peers and supporting them. There is a sense of loyalty and pride that translates into a unique kind of friendship, catalyzed by the single sex environment, that lasts far beyond one’s time on campus. One can see our boys walking arm in arm up from the athletic center with great regularity, and we also see younger boys cheering with older students in our tradition of The Loop – a group that gathers to cheer on our athletic teams.

Gratitude is also a fundamental aspect of culture at Belmont Hill. Through many Chapel Talks and traditions, we continually message to the boys that we have much to be thankful for on this campus. With the privilege of being at Belmont Hill comes an expectation that we will pay our good fortune to others as a way of expressing thanks. We institutionalize this with traditions like our Thanksgiving faculty chapel, where we hear more about how one of our teachers experiences gratitude in their own lives. 

Ultimately, ours is a “thick culture,” to use a phrase from the work of David Brooks. The totality of Belmont Hill people, traditions, and values helps shape our boys into the men they aspire to become.