Hill School Curriculum & Instruction

Target Students: average or above average intelligence with learning differences
Instructional Ratios: teacher/student ratio 1:7, Average class size 10 students
Grapevine Campus: first through seventh grade (Approx. 80 students)
(Eighth grade to be added in 2010-2011 school year)
Fort Worth Campus: second through twelfth grade (Approx. 220 students)
Curriculum standards: correlated with the Texas Education Agency "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills" (TEKS) including state-adopted textbooks.
National Recognition: Hill School has been designated one of only 11 All Kinds of Minds "Schools of Distinction" for successful integration of Schools Attuned instructional techniques.

Hill School curriculum includes:

Integrated language arts block (Reading, English, and Written Expression)
Mathematics
Social studies
Science
Physical education and athletics
Integrated technology instruction
Fine Arts: Choral Music, Band, Drama, Visual Arts
Study skills
Integrated self-discipline program with emphasis on character development and social skills

Instructional framework: the Schools Attuned to All Kinds of Minds and its Neurodevelopmental Framework are used to develop student learning profiles and provide the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to help frustrated students become more successful in school.
Specialized Training: within one year of employment, all Hill teachers are provided professional development in Schools Attuned to All Kinds of Minds, as well as opportunities for other training.
Small class size allows teachers to meet the needs of each student in a caring, nurturing environment.
Grouping is according to instructional levels with consideration of special instructional needs for math and language arts.
Differentiated instruction provides multiple formats to meet the needs of students with different learning styles - verbal, visual, tactile, etc.
Accommodations or Interventions are provided to ensure that students are successful. Examples include:
Material is presented in-depth rather than skimming the surface so that students gain a broad understanding of the topic.

Attention: mental energy, processing incoming information, and regulating output
Temporal-sequential ordering: processing and production of material that is serial
Spatial-ordering: processing and production of material that is visual and/or spatial
Memory: storage and retrieval of information, or mentally suspending information while using it
Language: understanding and use of linguistic sounds, words, sentences, and discourse
Neuromotor function: control over movement of large muscles, hands, and fingers
Social cognition: navigation of interaction with others, including verbal and nonverbal tactics
Higher order cognition: complex and sophisticated thinking

Example:

Hill High School World History students evaluated the brain functions necessary for success in that class, in approximate percentages, and then compared it to their own learning profile to determine how difficult the class would be for them, and where they would need to place extra effort, use special interventions, or require accommodations.

At Hill School instruction has these common elements:

Small group instruction: meeting students "where they are" and making a daily connection with each student.
Interactive - not teacher-directed, but student-centered
Daily integrated social skill elements
Organizational systems development: students use organizers to write down all assignments, and have weekly scheduled time for straightening lockers, organizing notebooks, and filing papers.
Affirmation of every student's strengths. Recognition that we all have areas of weakness.
Self-advocacy training: students learn how their brain works, what they need to be successful, and how to respectfully express that to others.
Goal-setting by students for buy-in and partnership in learning.
Students must demonstrate their understanding of a topic before homework is assigned.
Students learn to be accountable for their own learning - hard work is the key to progress and success.
Field trips for learning experience and practice: look beyond what can be written down on paper to life skills and awareness of the world around us.