Hannah Moser

Theresa Meyer

Ed 112: Intro to Professional Educator

11-16-23

School and Community Analysis: Hillside School

In a small suburb not far from the Windy City resides the village of Hillside, Illinois

where Hillside School is nestled between a golf club and the cemetery where notorious Al

Capone is buried. This community is home to mostly non-white races and ethnicities and the

village of Hillside presents a better place to raise a family than the densely populated city.

Hillside School is a k-8 school located across the street from the high school, Proviso West, but

Hillside is its own district. With its diverse community of learners, the school’s equity statement

reflects sentiments of working to improve academics, support cultural beliefs and inclusion and

make Hillside a safe and welcoming community that “dismantles systemic barriers” (Equity

Mission Statement). Hillside is a “good school” because it uses its resources to support the

learning and well-being of its students despite language barriers, low-incomes, and

homelessness.

Hillside School is working toward improving overall student academic achievement

through extra-support, new technology based curriculum, and testing. The school’s overall report

card grade mostly based on testing proficiencies is “Commendable” meaning “a school that has

no underperforming student groups, a graduation rate greater than 67 percent, and whose

performance is not in the top 10 percent of schools statewide” (Illinois Report Card). As of 2023,

there has been measurable growth in both math and reading for the Illinois Readiness

Assessment at Hillside. However, despite this growth, students are still struggling to meet
proficiency levels for these subjects in comparison to the state. This comparison is particularly

jarring for the subject of math; Hillside students are only at 11.6% percentage whereas the state

average is over double that at 26.9%. Improving learning for this subject has become a main goal

for the school and is being achieved through new technology based curriculum. The school is

implementing the technology tool i-Ready for individualized plans and as an additional check-in

for class instruction. Small formative assessments are done by students weekly as supplement to

in-class lessons to help gauge the learning and progress of students. This can be viewed by

teachers to aid classroom progress and instruction. I-Ready is not solely to help the teachers

understand the students but the purpose of I-Ready in the curriculum is to engage students to

think and problem solve on their own.

This practice of engaging in student thinking is similar to Reggio based learning and the

words of Dr. Ena Shelley. Reggio based learning fosters problem solving and student thinking.

Dr. Shelley speaks about putting students first and hearing their opinions. The Math Instructional

Coach at Hillside, Carrie Skelton, encourages teachers to use the philosophy of “Try (on your

own), Discuss (together), Connect (to new problems) curriculum” instead of an "I do, we do,

you do" curriculum in an email correspondence to the teachers. This philosophy encourages

students to work through problems on their own and collaborate with each other before needing

the help of a teacher. The teacher acts as a guide, but the students and their thinking come first

very similar to Reggio practice. Hillside is on its way to Reggio based learning but isn't there yet.

These new practices are still in a transitional phase and are new to teachers, parents and students.

Most parents in this area don’t have much higher education; 16.7% have a bachelor’s degree and

7.5% have a master’s degree. As a result, some students and parents struggle with these new
concepts of problem based learning when students simply want answers and the best way parents

can help when they don’t understand these new practices is giving the answers.

Despite the struggle to transition to a more student-focused practice, Hillside continues to

work on its disparities in math by implementing other support systems. One big focus recently

has been performing math walkthroughs. The school board minutes from October 2023 discuss

the plan for math walkthroughs: a math walkthrough tool was created so that the math coach,

administration, and Director of Curriculum and Instruction can observe classroom instruction.

The tool used for these observations is a checklist that ensures teachers are following and

encouraging the “Try, Discuss, Connect” curriculum in class.

The school is able to provide the technological tools for its students through its

expenditures. The school is able to spend an average $25,231 per student and their expenditure

adequacy is 119.5%. This allows the school to provide plenty of resources including numerous

support staff and a wireless device for each student: iPads for kindergarten through first grade

and Chromebooks for second grade through eighth grade. Total expenditures for the school are

$12,722,296 and this may not add up considering the socioeconomic status of the community.

For example, 61.8% of students are from low income families and 5.7% of families are homeless

which is double the state percentage. Despite these percentages, the school is very well funded

and this is due to the community. Between the businesses and residential buildings, Hillside

property taxes play a big part in funding the school. When looking at the difference between

homes and apartment complexes, 65% of people in the village live in a single family home

which means there are more individual residential buildings to tax. According to the Community

Data Snapshot of Hillside, 18% of land use is residential and 6.6% is commercial totalling

$187,040,059 in equalized assessed value. Ownwell.com explains the results of taxing in Hillside
by stating “The average property tax rate in Hillside is 3.08%, while the county average is

2.38%.” So, although there is a percentage of community members who are impoverished and

less-educated at a higher degree, the community and taxes from the local government support the

school and community. The community may also be supported by this funding through some of

its resources like Hillside Commons where baseball and softball games are held and walking and

play areas are available. Therefore, the local government and community play an important role

in supporting the youth of the town and their education.

Furthermore, Hillside School is making efforts to support its students and their families

by connecting to the community and encouraging parent involvement at school. The Hillside

Headlines Newsletter describes various initiatives to foster community involvement and create a

welcoming environment in and out of school. Hillside School has created a partnership with

Zebra Telehealth to provide free mental health services through video chat. This initiative helps

create a safe and healthy school environment. The school also reached out to the community in

September by providing a vaccine clinic to the community which was available to all despite

matters of insurance. The clinic is an example of community outreach that provides healthcare to

those who might be unable to receive it elsewhere. The school is also working hard to implement

the SEL: Caring School Community Program that “promotes positive behavior through teaching

responsibility, empathy, and cooperation, creating settings where students feel heard, known, and

cared for” (Hillside Headlines). This program works by exploring Caring School Community

topics each morning and helps to improve relationships and the emotional well being of students.

Lastly, the student population is 24.4% English learners reflecting the ethnicity groups at the

school. This group of students is supported by the school through Illinois Education Laws for

Transitional Bilingual Education, also known as TBE. TBE is required by schools “when there
are 20 or more ELs from the same language background in school” (ISBE) and Hillside School

meets this requirement. If the school has a TBE program, it is also required to have a Bilingual

Parent Advisory Committee or BPAC. Hillside School’s BPAC works hard to involve the parents

of English Learner Students. Meetings are held four times a year for BPAC where parents are

informed and involved in decision making. On the Illinois Report Card for Hillside School, the

school climate survey reflects that family involvement at school is neutral. BPAC is one form of

improving parent involvement and getting parents involved in decision making for their students'

education. In their 5 year strategic plan, one of their goals is to enhance parental organizations

and increase opportunities for parents to be involved. These goals are being met by planning

family nights, hosting a Fun Fair, and the school’s annual Reading Night.

Overall, Hillside School is continually progressing towards its goals of academic

achievement, increased student thinking, and community involvement. The School uses its

community and resources to create a safe and inclusive environment that strengthens problem

solving and promotes lifelong learning, following its Mission Statement.

 References

Churches & Places of worship. Hillside, IL. (n.d.-a).

https://www.hillside-il.org/resident-resources/pages/churches-places-worship

CMAP Community Data snapshot | Hillside - Illinois. (n.d.-a).

https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/102881/Hillside.pdf

Hillside District 93. Documents. (n.d.).

https://www.hillside93.org/documents/our-district/hillside-headlines/311443

Hillside District 93. Home. (n.d.). https://www.hillside93.org/

Hillside District 93. Principal’s Message. (n.d.).

https://www.hillside93.org/page/principals-message

Hillside District 93. Strategic Plan. (n.d.). https://www.hillside93.org/page/strategic-plan

Hillside Elem School (PK - 8). HILLSIDE ELEM SCHOOL | IAROverall. (n.d.).
https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/school.aspx?source=trends&source2=iar&Schoolid=06016093
0022001

Hillside SD 93. HILLSIDE SD 93 | District Snapshot. (n.d.).

https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/district.aspx?source=profile&Districtid=06016093002

Hillside, IL. Data USA. (n.d.). https://datausa.io/profile/geo/hillside-il#economy

Map of Hillside Illinois IL. Map of Hillside, IL, Illinois. (n.d.).

https://townmapsusa.com/d/map-of-hillside-illinois-il/hillside_il

OwnWell. (n.d.). Hillside Real Estate and property tax values - understanding the local market and
taxes. Hillside Real Estate and Property Tax Values - Understanding the Local Market and Taxes.
https://trends.ownwell.com/average-tax-assessment/illinois/cook-county/hillside/

Recreation. Hillside, IL. (n.d.-b). https://www.hillside-il.org/community/pages/recreation

Sarver, F. (2020, November 20). Frankfort principal leaves for Hillside District 93. Shaw Local.
https://www.shawlocal.com/2015/02/12/frankfort-principal-leaves-for-hillside-district-93/a7t9okm/

Transitional bilingual education (TBE) and Transitional Program of ... (n.d.-b).

https://www.isbe.net/Documents/tbe-tpi-bpac.pdf