HILLCREST ACADEMY OVERVIEW

Hillcrest Academy is an independent, coeducational kindergarten through eighth grade elementary school that offers a sequential, well-rounded liberal arts program.

Because the ratio of students to teachers is small, all students are individually encouraged to acquire information and knowledge in a supportive environment. Our qualified and caring teaching staff is committed to sharing their love of learning in a manner that will insure a lifetime quest for growth.

Our enriched liberal arts curriculum affords the Hillcrest student a variety of academic options designed to enable each one to excel in today's diverse culture. The language arts program emphasizes a phonetic approach to acquiring reading skills in the lower grades (K-2) and progresses to the study of classical literature beginning in the third grade.

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Our math, science, and social studies curricula meet current state standards, while our foreign language and fine arts departments offer growth in areas not available in most other schools, public or private.

Current educational research stresses the importance of foreign languages, music, art and drama. This has been borne out by many new studies linking the fine arts with brain development and improved test scores.

To ensure the appreciation of art, music and drama, each student participates in a winter musical (grades 1-5) or spring drama (grades 6-8), as well as attending cultural events throughout the year.

Hillcrest students participate in a variety of school sponsored activities including, Student Council, community service projects, an annual science fair, the Catalina Island Marine Science Camp, and the Orange County Living History Program.

For many of our students the highlight of their Hillcrest experience is the annual educational tour of New England and New York in the seventh grade or the eighth grade American Council of International Studies trip to Europe. These carefully planned trips bring learning alive as well as foster independence and a more global understanding only attainable through travel.

Hillcrest Students are prepared for exceptional success in high school. Most graduates qualify for college prep (CP) and advanced placement (AP) classes. They enter high school at a level well beyond their peers. Many are also placed in second year, and occasionally, third year French or Spanish.

In September, students take the Coprehensive Testing Program 4 (CTP4) achievement test. These tests are administered to grades one through eight and give an objective standard by which to measure student achievement and assess curriculum.

There can be no objective measurement of the love of learning that is instilled here at Hillcrest, unless it is in the number of students who remain in contact with their teachers throughout their high school, and even their college years. Hillcrest is the foundation for a lifetime of learning.