The Hillier School was founded in the 1960's by the Highland Park
Presbyterian Church as a special ministry dedicated to teaching
children with learning differences.
The school provides a much needed, fully accredited program for students who demonstrate a significant discrepancy between intellectual potential and academic performance. With an emphasis on reading, writing, and spelling, an understanding and patient staff strives to raise academic achievement through multisensory, success-oriented teaching techniques and small, structured classes.
A Christ centered environment fosters students' feelings of self-respect and competence essential for success in life.
The school's Alphabetic Phonics, Situation Learning, and Take Flight programs are highly structured multisensory curriculums based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to the teaching of reading, writing, and spelling. These curriculums have been researched and developed at the renowned Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Certified Academic Language Therapists provide daily instruction appropriate to each child's needs.
Manipulative materials, mutisensory teaching methods, and individual instruction lead to mastery of basic math skills.
Holistic oral and written expression encourages students to speak, listen, read, and write for personal meaning. Literature based projects, movies, and writing assignments inspire class discussion and research efforts. Students spend time each week in the school's computer lab to support their writing skills. Library skills are also taught through regular visits to the library.
This class is designed for students who have completed Language Training or demonstrate near grade-level reading proficiency. This course offers a challenging curriculum in preparation for mainstream expectation. Literature, written composition, vocabulary enrichment, spelling, mechanics and usage are addressed.
Emphasis is placed on group social skills, team sportsmanship, motor skills, and physical fitness
Art instruction offers directed group projects with time set aside for free-expression.
Students are offered a basic study of music theory along with the exploration of different styles of music. Students are given the opportunity to perform each year.
Two days a week, students develop essential keyboarding skills through isolated practice and whole paragraph transcription. Monitored internet access offers a window to the cyber world, with time to explore individual interests online. In addition, a comprehensive collection of award-winning math, science and social studies software encourages students to learn about the world around them through play.
Supported subject content is integrated with textbook instruction and basic organizational skills. In addition, students also participate in related group and individual art projects and hands-on experiments. An extensive film library reinforces and enhances classroom instruction.
This class introduces, defines, and builds character traits that will guide students during their formative years. Some of the traits taught are diligence, patience, kindness, wisdom, honesty, and self-discipline.
Principles of the Christian faith are taught through lessons from both the Old and New Testaments. These lessons are presented with an emphasis on the development of a healthy feeling of self worth, a strong foundation for moral decision-making, and a positive attitude regarding God's care and His desire for good in the lives of His children.
A licensed speech-language pathologist is available to evaluate and treat those students with language, articulation, fluency, and voice difficulties.