The spotlight of attention from alumni like Donald Trump Jr. may be distorting the public’s view of the Hill School and its “manicured walls, stately buildings and stained-glass windows,” but school leaders are rolling up their sleeves to prove what the Hill School is really about, according to a Philly.com report by John Ryan Barwick.

“Our real interest is improving the community,” said Headmaster Zachary Lehman in the article.

“We really can’t control what people think about the school; we can only take action to demonstrate. It’s our deeds, not our words.”

What the Hill School is doing is shifting from a longtime focus on the Pottstown CARES volunteer cleanup and Habitat for Humanity rehab to the new Hobart’s Run economic revitalization initiative targeted at the neighborhood surrounding the campus.

“We have always been a good neighbor,” Lehman said. “But we felt as though we needed to focus our efforts on economic development as opposed to community service.”

He hopes Pottstown and Philly will see the true heart of the people behind the Hill School.

“I think they would find … that the people involved in the Hill School are generous, thoughtful, engaged community members who would like nothing better than Pottstown to be successful,” he said.

Read more about the new Hobart’s Run initiative on Philly.com here, and check out previous MONTCO Today coverage of the Hill School here.