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Hillside Avenue School is proud of the accomplishments of its students and staff. Several teachers have been recognized at the local and state level for their professionalism. The school has also been the beneficiary of 12 grants, the most prominent being the BASF Science Grant. Our students have also been recognized for many accomplishments, including a student who visited the White House as the NJ representative in the National Healthy Lunch Challenge as well as seven students being named All-State Music.

Learn more about Hillside Avenue School.

Hillside Avenue School is a student-centered, multicultural environment reflecting an active partnership between students, parents, staff and the community. The six pillars of good character are modeled and learned: fairness, respect, responsibility, truthfulness, caring and citizenship. These initiatives help Hillside Avenue School students to accept and respect each student as an individual of worth and dignity, celebrate differences, and encourage creativity and freedom of expression.

In order to align our students’ needs with the NJSLS, we have ongoing curriculum review cycle. Standard Based Report Cards were developed to enhance student learning. Leveled instruction is used to guarantee personalized learning. The 8th grade offers advanced classes in ELA, math, science, and social studies. Our world language department offers 5 languages: French, German, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish.

Hillside Avenue School in partnership with the Township of Cranford, provides a vast number of interscholastic athletics and co-curricular activities available for students. We are proud that 91 percent of our student body participates in one or more school-sponsored extra-curricular activity.

One of the cornerstones of our school is professional development. Staff receives annually PD in Personalized Learning, Readers/Writers workshop, Data analysis, NGSS, and Math. We are also proud to be one of the Charter Professional Development Schools, which partners Hillside Avenue School with Seton Hall University to help train future teachers, and to provide our own teachers with ongoing support and skill enhancement.

Every student in our school has a network of supportive, caring educational professionals dedicated to helping them succeed. Grade-level teams of teachers collaborate to meet the needs of our students in a number of areas within and beyond the scope of academics. Special Education, Gifted and Talented, English as a Second Language and Basic Skills services are available to our students.

Health and wellness is promoted on an ongoing basis through a variety of programs, including competitive and non-competitive athletic activities available after school. Health and physical education programs promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Parents and teachers participate in our Mighty Miler Program and support our elementary students during recess with running, walking, skipping, jumping and dancing laps. The music gets the students excited while earning rewards as their miles add up.

An active parent/teacher organization at Hillside Avenue School helps to maintain and strengthen the bond between home and school. Parents play an active role in the school community volunteering for many classroom and school-wide activities. Together with teachers and administrators, parents share in the decision-making that affects our children.

Hillside Avenue School was constructed and opened in 1963 and as we approach our 55th anniversary the school remains in excellent shape. Attention to maintenance and upgrades including new boilers, roof, security and technologically infrastructure has helped us maintain an outstanding healthy, safe, learning environment for our students, staff and community members who use our school.

Each school in Cranford Public School District shares a common Crisis Clipboard that has been co-developed with the assistance of Cranford Police Department. In addition each school has a personalized Emergency Response Template as well as a 91 Elements guide to serve as additional crisis management resources. Monthly security drills and fire drills are held with support and direct oversight from the corresponding community agencies. Ongoing professional development and training is conducted on a monthly basis for all staff.

Hillside Avenue School, in conjunction with the PTA, hosts STEM Nights for all elementary grade levels.

In addition to the regular instructional program, other school-wide initiatives help to build a strong learning community. At Hillside Avenue School, the six pillars of good character are modeled and learned: fairness, respect, responsibility, truthfulness, caring and citizenship. We have initiatives to help eliminate bullying behavior, and we strive to create an environment where all children can and do learn. Students learn conflict resolution skills, and student mediators assist in this process. Hillside Avenue School accepts and respects each student as an individual of worth and dignity, celebrates differences, and encourages creativity and freedom of expression. Hillside Avenue School’s mission is to create a learning environment that encourages individual as well as interpersonal growth, a love of learning, and a commitment to improving and caring for the community. Our annual school-wide theme unites us to work together toward achieving our common goal: “Making today’s learners tomorrow’s leaders.”