Hill Elementary School

Hill is a great school!! We are so lucky that our child gets to go to the best school in Austin. Although my child is not in special education, the special education teacher often goes out of his way to provide advice to me and to help my child learn. He is amazing!!!!!!!
--Submitted by a parent

Although this is not our home school, we chose to put our son in the Pre-k program there. The teachers are great and the parents are VERY involved. My son has a speech issue (articulation). The speech therapist is amazing. My son s speech improved much in his year there. I would definitely recommend the school!
--Submitted by a parent

Ok, so I have been reading the past four reviews (sounds like the 'learning disability' review was written by a parent who was demanding too much out of a public school) and I disagree!!!! If a child has severe learning disorders, put them into a special school that helps to work with their problem. You can't expect a public school to fix that problem. The two June reviews written back to back was obviously written by a parent of a child who got in trouble for bad behavior. They are trying to justify it by writing 2 bad reviews back to back. Not to be mean, but check out the literacy on the June 1st review. That's all I'm saying. I moved from Crestview neighborhood to put my child here, and we were so pleased with his writing/reading skills in just a matter of a few months!! We love the Principals!!! The parent-teacher involvement is amazing! If you're a parent trying to send your kid here, and not care about their schooling, go elsewhere! They do NOT tolerate bad behavior/fighting! It's amazing!!!!!! Gullett, Brentwood, Wooten, Lamar, McCallum, Austin High-horrible because of the influx of transfers. Hill does not have alot of transfers. It makes a HUGE difference!
--Submitted by a parent

I Love this school but... some staff I find like to demote my kid's self respect.
--Submitted by a parent

this is one of the worst elementaries in every way posible that you can think off.i can not believe that it is rated ''10'' that's a big lie.it shoul be a 1 .we had a lot of bad experiences in this horrible elementary.kids say bad words in front of the teachers,there is no homework,teachers have no work ethic,etc.
--Submitted by a parent

Hill is good for students in the "norm". I agree with a recently posted review in that Hill does not cater to students who have learning disabilities. Our son has ADHD, as do so many other children, and the staff at Hill was unable to cope with that. Our daughter is at the other end of the spectrum, and is bored with what is being done in the classroom -- the classroom environment is not flexible enough, because of the large class size (25 kids with 1 teacher in Kindergarten!), to be able to challenge students who are doing well. Our discussions with the staff and teachers have always ended up with them telling us that "this is public school, and that they do not have the time and people to accommodate outside the norms". And, the counselor is not helpful nor caring. Again, Hill is great if your child does not require any special educational accommodations. We are moving our children to a smaller private school with a better teacher-to-student ratio and a more personalized learning experience.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is great if your child DOESN'T have a learning disability like a moderate form of dyslexia, they act like they have never heard of dyslexia & do not have a plan in place to teach a dyslexic child to read! They don't have a diagnostician full time, nor do they have any current dyslexic specialist! Ten to fifteen percent of the US population has dyslexia, and Hill acts like they missed those stats! They (the Hill staff) expect the parent to know what questions to ask & how their child should be taught when the average parent has no experience in this! I can only imagine how many poor kids are falling through the cracks! I have talked with a number of other parents that have LEFT HILL b/c of the lack of resources & interest in helping their dyslexic child!
--Submitted by a parent

We have been nothing but pleased with all teachers and staff. The principal is very receptive to parents and always seems present at all activities. Our experience has been a good one and we will have another kindergartner starting next year. We are lucky to attend Hill and have many friends that are looking to move into our area, for the school alone!
--Submitted by a parent

Ok, ok, everyone has there own opinion on a school, and how their child fits into the school's flow. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this place!!!! Austin only has a handful of great public schools left (Hill, Highland Park, Westlake, Lake Travis, and Leander), and we landed in a great one! My son started the PreK program and already is advanced with writing and reading skills! The school staff is AMAZING, the parent involvement is superb, this school is great. They are very involved with getting children to excel to the highest point possible, and yes (duh!) they want their school to be top rated, which it IS!!!!!!!!! Check out those scores from 2010! They have a zero tolerance policy, which is the best idea ever, we want our schools safe! I love this place, and hope it stays amazing for a long time!
--Submitted by a parent

Very good teachers who seem to care, the principal seems more concerned with social climbing than with the students though.
--Submitted by a parent