Hillcrest High School

School Portfolio
2013/14 through 2017/18
2016-17 Update

G. Bryan Skipper, Principal

3665 South Industrial Drive
Simpsonville, South Carolina 29681
864-355-3500
 SCHOOL RENEWAL PLAN COVER PAGE
SCHOOL INFORMATION AND REQUIRED SIGNATURES

SCHOOL: Hillcrest High School

GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

SCHOOL RENEWAL PLAN FOR YEARS 2013-2014 through 2017-2018 (five years)
SCHOOL RENEWAL ANNUAL UPDATE FOR 2017-2018 (one year)
Assurances
The school renewal plan, or annual update of the school renewal plan, includes elements required by the
Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act of 1993 (Act 135) and the Education
Accountability Act of 1998 (EAA) (S.C. Code Ann. §59-18-1300 and §59-139-10 et seq. (Supp. 2004)).
The signatures of the chairperson of the board of trustees, the superintendent, the principal, and the
chairperson of the school improvement council are affirmation of active participation of key stakeholders
and alignment with Act 135 and EAA requirements.

CHAIRPERSON, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dr. Crystal Ball O’Connor

PRINTED NAME SIGNATURE DATE
SUPERINTENDENT

Dr. W. Burke Royster 3/31/17

PRINTED NAME SIGNATURE DATE
CHAIRPERSON, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL

Mandy Watts 3/31/17

PRINTED NAME SIGNATURE DATE
PRINCIPAL

G. Bryan Skipper 3/31/17

PRINTED NAME SIGNATURE DATE
SCHOOL READ TO SUCCEED LITERACY LEADERSHIP TEAM LEAD

Maureen Prince 3/31/17

PRINTED NAME SIGNATURE DATE

SCHOOL’S ADDRESS: 3665 South Industrial Drive, Simpsonville, SC 29681

SCHOOL’S TELEPHONE: (864) 355-3500

PRINCIPAL’S E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]

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STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT FOR SCHOOL PLAN
(Mandated Component)

List the name of persons who were involved in the development of the school renewal plan. A
participant for each numbered category is required.

POSITION NAME

1. PRINCIPAL G. Bryan Skipper

2. TEACHER Denise Borrelli

3. PARENT/GUARDIAN David Brooks

4. COMMUNITY MEMBER Maria Bentley

5. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL Mandy Watts

6. Read to Succeed Reading Coach

7. School Read to Succeed Literacy Leadership Team Lead Maureen Prince

8. OTHERS* (May include school board members, administrators, School Improvement

Council members, students, PTO members, agency representatives, university partners,
etc.)
** Must include the School Read to Succeed Literacy Leadership Team.

POSITION NAME

Assistant Principal of Instruction Rhonda Orr

Teacher Alicia Clinger

Teacher Ann Bamonti

Teacher Julie Jenkins

Teacher Kristen Hallman

*REMINDER: If state or federal grant applications require representation by

other stakeholder groups, it is appropriate to include
additional stakeholders to meet those requirements and to
ensure that the plans are aligned.

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 ASSURANCES FOR SCHOOL PLAN
(Mandated Component)

Act 135 Assurances

Assurances, checked by the principal, attest that the district complies with all applicable Act 135
requirements.

_____ Academic Assistance, PreK–3

The district makes special efforts to assist children in PreK–3 who demonstrate a need
for extra or alternative instructional attention (e.g., after-school homework help centers,
individual tutoring, and group remediation).
__X___ Academic Assistance, Grades 4–12
The district makes special efforts to assist children in grades 4–12 who demonstrate a
need for extra or alternative instructional attention (e.g., after-school homework help
centers, individual tutoring, and group remediation).
__X___ Parent Involvement
The district encourages and assists parents in becoming more involved in their
children’s education. Some examples of parent involvement initiatives include making
special efforts to meet with parents at times more convenient for them, providing
parents with their child’s individual test results and an interpretation of the results,
providing parents with information on the district’s curriculum and assessment
program, providing frequent, two way communication between home and school,
providing parents an opportunity to participate on decision making groups, designating
space in schools for parents to access educational resource materials, including parent
involvement expectations as part of the principal’s and superintendent’s evaluations,
and providing parents with information pertaining to expectations held for them by the
school system, such as ensuring attendance and punctuality of their children.
__X___ Staff Development
The district provides staff development training for teachers and administrators in the
teaching techniques and strategies needed to implement the school/district plan for the
improvement of student academic performance. The staff development program reflects
requirements of Act 135, the EAA, and the National Staff Development Council’s
revised Standards for Staff Development.
__X___ Technology
The district integrates technology into professional development, curriculum
development, and classroom instruction to improve teaching and learning.
_____ Innovation
The district uses innovation funds for innovative activities to improve student learning
and accelerate the performance of all students. Provide a good example of the use of
innovation funds.

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__X___ Collaboration
The district (regardless of the grades served) collaborates with health and human
services agencies (e.g., county health departments, social services departments, mental
health departments, First Steps, and the family court system).

_____ Developmental Screening

The district ensures that the young child receives all services necessary for growth and
development. Instruments are used to assess physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and
cognitive developmental levels. This program normally is appropriate at primary and
elementary schools, although screening efforts could take place at any location.

_____ Half-Day Child Development

The district provides half-day child development programs for four-year-olds (some
districts fund full-day programs). The programs usually function at primary and
elementary schools, although they may be housed at locations with other grade levels or
completely separate from schools.

_____ Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum for PreK–3

The district ensures that the scope and sequence of the curriculum for PreK–3 are
appropriate for the maturation levels of students. Instructional practices accommodate
individual differences in maturation level and take into account the student's social and
cultural context.
__X___ Parenting and Family Literacy
The district provides a four component program that integrates all of the following
activities: interactive literacy activities between parents and their children (Interactive
Literacy Activities); training for parents regarding how to be the primary teachers for
their children and full partners in the education of their children (parenting skills for
adults, parent education); parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency
(adult education); and an age-appropriated education to prepare children for success in
school and life experiences (early childhood education). Family Literacy is not grade
specific, but generally is most appropriate for parents of children at the primary and
elementary school levels and below, and for secondary school students who are parents.
Family Literacy program goals are to strengthen parent involvement in the learning
process of preschool children ages birth through five years; promote school readiness of
preschool children; offer parents special opportunities to improve their literacy skills
and education, a chance to recover from dropping out of school; and identify potential
developmental delays in preschool children by offering developmental screening.

__X___ Recruitment
The district makes special and intensive efforts to recruit and give priority to serving
those parents or guardians of children, age’s birth through five years, who are
considered at-risk of school failure. “At-risk children are defined as those whose school
readiness is jeopardized by any of, but no limited to, the following personal or family
situation(s): Educational level of parent below high school graduation, poverty, limited
English proficiency, significant developmental delays, instability or inadequate basic

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 capacity within the home and/or family, poor health (physical, mental, emotional)
and/or child abuse and neglect.

__X___ Coordination of Act 135 Initiatives with Other Federal, State, and District
Programs

The district ensures as much program effectiveness as possible by developing a district-

wide/school-wide coordinated effort among all programs and funding. Act 135 initiatives are
coordinated with programs such as Head Start, First Steps, Title I, and programs for students
with disabilities.

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 Table of Contents

Introduction Page 8

Executive Summary Page 12

School Profile Page 16

Mission, Vision and Beliefs Page 15

Action Plan Page 47

Professional Development Plan Page 74

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 Introduction
Each school year, two goals are selected from Hillcrest High School’s Action Plan goals for
special emphasis over that school year. Progress toward all Action Plan goals is continually
monitored and a strong effort for continuous improvement in all goal areas is made. For the
2016-17 year the administrative goals are to increase the graduation rate by 1.8 percentage points
from 88.2% in 2016 to 90% in 2017 and to raise the English I End or Course passage rate by 3
percentage points from 80.6% in 2016 to 83.6% in 2017.

The work to achieve these goals is a collaborative effort within the school community. The
administrative team’s careful selection of highly qualified teachers for the teaching of EOC
courses. All EOC courses are provided with common planning periods in an effort to promote
collaboration in the Freshman Academy. Teachers work within those common planning periods
to generate common lesson plans, common assessment and analyze data for remediation.
USATestprep is used in all EOC courses as a tool to provide benchmark assessments that
generate data for analysis in connection with remediation and to drive instruction.

Rhonda Orr, Assistant Principal of Instruction has taken the lead on raising the Hillcrest High
School graduation rate. Mrs. Orr has established a team review and monitor procedures for
improving the graduation rate. The team has created a procedures manual for monitoring and
obtaining documentation for the graduation rate. A list of current personnel and their role in
obtaining documentation for the graduation rate is outlined in Hillcrest High School Graduation
Rate Manual. We expect our graduation rate to increase due to better accountability and
programs we monitor to improve student achievement. In addition, Leigh Anne Terry, Assistant
Principal over senior students, has worked diligently with seniors who are at risk of not meeting
the requirements for graduation. Measures she has undertaken include use of credit recovery and
virtual school for students needing to make-up credit, contracts with students who are
experiencing grade or attendance difficulties, and careful monitoring of at risk students. A new
mentoring program “Rams on the Rise” was implemented two years ago to monitor seniors at
risk of not meeting graduation requirements. These students are paired with a mentor on campus
to provide support in the areas of academics, attendance and behavior. Hillcrest High School has
continued the program again this year to track student progress and encourage students to meet
graduation requirements.

Hillcrest High School continues to strive toward meeting and exceeding the goals set for student
achievement, teacher and administrator quality and school climate. Presentations for the purpose
of information and discussion of school data are held at least annually for the faculty and
administration, the School Improvement Council and district personnel.

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 School Portfolio Committees for 5 Year Plan
EOC Committees

Algebra 1 Biology 1 English 1 U.S. History

Crabtree, T. Emmons, C. Bachman, J. Bamonti, A.
Love, B. Overstreet, J. Smith, S. Reid, A.
Rosteck, S. Formaneck, J. Duncan, R. Hailey, B.
Szoktak, C. Perrone, S. More, W. Dunaway, R.

Data Committees

ACT ACT Workkeys Graduation Rate Percent Tested

Borrelli, D. Borrelli. D. Orr, R. Borrelli. D.
Freeman, J. Freeman, J. Burrage, L. Orr, R.
House, E. House, E. Chandler, M. Doolittle, V.
Doolittle, V. Doolittle, V. Earle, E. Scott, L.
Doherty, M. Doherty, M. Bobbit, M. Morgan, M.
Orr, R. Gahagan, A. Rewis, H. Johnson, C.
Terry, L.
Monson, S.

Advanced Placement SAT

Baker, B. House, E.
Cuyar, A. Gustafson, M.
Orr, R. Misanko, T.
Acker, E. Plating, J.
Jenkins, J. Johnson, C.
Buhr, S. Colvin, C.

School Purpose Review Committees

Mission, Vision, Beliefs, Tag Line School Goals
Barker, A. Benquet, S.
Lawhorne, L. Walkup, A.
Morgan, M. Ball, J.
Gustafson, M. Holmes, B.
Reid, A. Bamonti, A.
Oates, J. Prince, M.
Dankenbring, L. Wooten, D.

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 5 Year Plan Committee Members

Purpose and Direction Governance and Leadership

Standard 1 – 3 Indicators Standard 2 – 6 Indicators
Orr, R. Skipper, B.
Terry, L. Ashworth, K.
Bagnal, L. Bell, T.
Acker, E. Ramsdell, M.
Clinger, A. Prince, M.
Monson, S. House, E.

Teaching and Assessing Team A Teaching and Assessing Team B

Standard 3 – 12 Indicators Standard 3 – 12 Indicators
Indicators 1 – 6 Indicators 7 - 12
Doolittle, V. Ashworth, K.
Borrelli, D. Freeman, J.
Lawhorne, L. Ball, J.
Freeland, T. Earle, M.
Hallman, K. Nelon, A.
Southers, J. Jenkins, J.
Malcolm, K. Coyle, T.

Resources and Support Continuous Improvement

Standard 4 – 7 Indicators Standard 6 – 5 Indicators
Freeman, J. Skipper, B.
Ray, K. Terry, L.
Axson, E. Borrelli, D.
Brooks, D. House, E
Doherty, M. Orr, R.
Esrum, E. Misanko, T.
Gosnell, M. Clemmer, C.
Workman, J. Buhr, S.
Brooks-Pennington, T. Terry, L.

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School Profile Contributors:

Administration Rhonda Orr

Agricultural Science Mark Earle
Athletics Tommy Bell
Business Jill Ball
Career Development Elizabeth House
English Christie Colvin
ESOL Gwen Freitas
Family Consumer Science Timothy Coyle-Smith
Fine Arts Thom Freeland
Freshman Academy Bianca Jamison
Guidance Elizabeth House
Math Jennifer Southers
Media Center Misty Gosnell
Organizations Lea Bagnal
Physical Education Lynn Avant
Science Kristin Hallman
School Improvement Council Rhonda Orr
Social Studies Ann Bamonti
Special Education Amanda Walkup
Speech and Debate Bill Evans
Student Council Margie Gustafson
Technology Mary Beth Doherty
World Languages Anna Cuyar
Editor Denise Borrelli

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 Executive Summary
Hillcrest High School has been a source of pride for the Simpsonville-Fountain Inn Community
for almost six decades. It is located off of Interstate 385 South and can be viewed from the
interstate. The school is one of the two largest high schools in the Greenville County School
District and also the state. The student enrollment of approximately 2100 students in grades 9
through 12 is highly diversified economically, culturally, ethnically, and racially. About 23% of
our student body is African American, 62% is Caucasian, 9% is Hispanic and 6% are of other
ethnicity.

As the economy has slowed, Hillcrest High School has experienced a lower teacher turnover
rate. Faculty demographics have remained fairly constant over the past four years. 55% of the
faculty is female. Hillcrest High School currently has less than 10% minority certified staff
members which is disproportional to the 38% minority student population. Thirty-four teachers
hold one or more Advance Placement certifications and twenty-nine teachers are endorsed to
teach gifted and talented students. In recent years the school has been able to employ more
teachers completing accredited collegiate teacher preparation programs. All teachers are
teaching within their areas of certification and all of our teaching staff is highly qualified.
Currently nine faculty members hold National Board Certification.

Hillcrest High School is proud of the accomplishments of its students and of the programs it has
to offer. For example, 18% of our students participated in one or more Advanced Placement
classes. The agricultural program is one of the largest and most successful in the state. The
business department is viewed as a model for other schools throughout South Carolina, as well as
being the largest in Greenville County. Our Speech and Debate Team continues to be ranked
nationally with students qualifying for national tournaments. We have one of the most highly
decorated choral departments in the state, as well as an outstanding band program. Visual art
students continue to win awards and participate in Artisphere. Hillcrest High School continues
to have a very successful Freshman Academy. Hillcrest High School has been a Palmetto Gold
award recipient for outstanding achievement by our teachers and students in 2006-2009, 2011,
2013, 2014 and 2015. In anticipation of implementing the Common Core Curriculum Hillcrest
High School returned to a seven period school day schedule in 2014.

Hillcrest High Schools offers a variety of opportunities for student involvement. We field a
complete selection of sports teams which expanded several years ago to include swimming and
lacrosse. Our athletic accomplishments are numerous with our Football, Boys’ Basketball and
Girls’ Volleyball teams being ranked among the top in the state.

The physical facility at Hillcrest was completed in 1992. This makes it the oldest school in the
district that has not had a major renovation to the original building. A new classroom wing with
eight classrooms and two biology labs was added to Hillcrest High School and occupied for the
first time at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year. A new multi-purpose gymnasium,
renovated locker rooms and PE offices were completed in the spring of 2012. The agricultural
department maintains two outdoor courtyards within the school facility to provide the school
community a place to be in touch with nature. A greenhouse was constructed several years ago
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and it provides plants and trees for sale to both the school and community. Improvements have
been made to the outdoor athletic facility, including a new baseball field, competition level track,
and concession stands in 2009.

The local community strongly supports Hillcrest High School. Both athletic and academic
booster clubs are strong and actively involved in providing support in the form of time and
money for our students. The school has a strong career education program which the community
supports through student employment and job shadowing opportunities. Hillcrest High School is
a large comprehensive public high school, however, it maintains a hometown school atmosphere.
Many parents and community members are Hillcrest High School graduates and continue to
support the school long after graduation. Two of the school’s current administrators are
graduates of Hillcrest High School, as well as numerous faculty members. Hillcrest High School
is dedicated to providing a safe, positive learning environment which brings together the
resources of the staff, family and community to create the best future possible for our students.

In the recent past, one of the challenges Hillcrest High School experienced was a steady increase
in our poverty rate. However, for the first time in several years our poverty index is down from
50.3% to 39.8%. The school currently has over 16 regular education bus routes and 5 special
education bus routes. Our large population of bus riders makes after school tutoring an ongoing
challenge for students to access. Scheduling and remediation continue to be a difficult challenge.
Due to the large geographic area the school draws students from, the size of the school, and the
transient nature of a segment of the student population contribute to the challenges we face.

Hillcrest High School continues to take steps to improve student achievement. These measures
include better monitoring of student records and the impact of student matriculation on the
graduation rate, being proactive in identifying our at risk students. The administrative team
places emphasis on common planning, common assessments and student centered lessons to
improve EOC passage rate. The number of students taking the SAT has remained fairly stable
the past several years. The number of students taking the ACT has continued to rise over the
years. For the third year, as a state mandated test, each student in their third year of high school
took ACT and ACT Workkeys.

Hillcrest High School underwent a district technology refresh in 2015. To accommodate current
technology use in the fall of 2014 a full wireless overlay was placed throughout the building.
Hillcrest High School strives to provide the latest in technology advancements with the financial
resources we have available. The school currently owns 114 iPads for teacher and student use.
Thirteen of the iPads are assigned to special education classrooms. The devices are routinely
used to incorporate technology into classroom instruction. Through a district initiative all
regular sized classrooms and the media center currently have Promethean Boards. Fourteen of
these boards are a touch screen board. Training sessions are offered to accommodate the
different levels of teacher proficiency in the use of Promethean Boards are held each school year
allowing teachers to maximize the use of the boards in daily instruction. Monthly technology
classes are offered to teachers on a wide variety of topics, including Google Apps for Education.
All teachers at Hillcrest High School utilize Google Classroom for participation in professional
development and classroom instruction. Teachers are also using the Google Apps for Education
to enhance the learning of our students. As a result, Hillcrest High School’s professional
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development has focused on student centered lessons to raise the level of student engagement
and improve student achievement. Further, the Professional Development Plan this school year
has had a heavy focus on preparing our teachers for the personalized learning roll out next school
year.

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 SCHOOL GOALS 2013 - 2018

Student Achievement Goal

Raise the academic challenge and test performance of each student in order to meet the state and
federal accountability objectives for all students.

Teacher and Administrator Quality Goal

Ensure quality personnel in all positions.

School Climate Goal

Provide a school environment supportive of learn

Hillcrest High School’s Belief Statements

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Hillcrest High School is to educate all students to become positive, productive
citizens equipped to meet the challenges of today’s global society.

SCHOOL MOTTO

Honor ∙ Truth ∙ Loyalty

VISION

● Involve students in curricular and extracurricular activities that enhance social,

physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being.

● Provide a wide variety of academically challenging experiences for all students

● Cultivate values of honesty, diligence, achievement, pride and highlight the

importance of family and the significance of community service.

● Promote partnerships and community involvement with our school.

● Analyze relevant data concerning school processes and progress to make collective
decisions for school improvement.

TAG LINE

Today’s Learners; Tomorrow’s Leaders

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 School Profile
Hillcrest High School offers a wide spectrum of classes and programs that enable students to
advance their education and become productive citizens. A strong emphasis in giving back to
the community is created through Spirit Week’s fundraising for a local charity, the annual
canned food drive, plant sales and landscape projects both within Hillcrest High School and at
other local schools, and participation in local charity events as they arise. Collaborative projects
and use of current technology allow our students to prepare for their future whether their
immediate plans upon graduation are college, technical college, military service, or the
workforce.

There have been many reasons for celebrating during the 2016-17 school year.

● Excellent Absolute Rating on the 2013, 2014 and 2015 School Report Card
● Excellent Growth Rating on the 2013 School Report Card
● Over $11.7 million in college scholarships
● Strong tradition of giving back to the community, the student body raised over
$105,193.13 during Spirit Week for a local charity
● Advance Placement Scholars
● Speech and Debate State and National Awards
● Hillcrest High School Chorus received superior rating in 2015-16 at the State Choral
Festival
● Hillcrest High School Strings received 1 superior ratings at the State Concert Festival.
● Hillcrest High School Band had several students awarded the honor of being in the SC
Region Band
● Hillcrest High School had several students awarded the honor of Greenville All County
Band
● Hillcrest High School received an excellent rating at the SC 5A State Marching Contest.
● Hillcrest High School received the Grand Champion Award at the Chesnee Bank contest.
● 4A Division 1 State Champions Football 2014
● 4A State Runner-up and Region 1 4A Basketball Conference Champions 2015
● Student athletes signing to play their sport in college for Football, Track, Lacrosse,
Soccer, Volleyball, and Baseball

Hillcrest High School has made several modifications in instruction over the past several years to
improve student achievement. As a result, our End of Course test results have improved over the
years. We are currently maintaining steady scores in all areas of End of Course state testing. As
a school we are dedicated to improving student achievement. Therefore, our administrative
team, as well as teachers, continue to analyze school data to identify our school’s weaknesses
and we work tirelessly to continue to improve in all areas. The school community has taken the
following steps to continue to improve student achievement:
● Secured web based End of Course test practice.

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 ● Provided training and support in using test practice.
● Provided on-line credit recovery.
● Teacher collaboration through Professional Learning Communities to common pace,
common plan, and common assess
● Highly qualified teachers

Teachers work collaboratively on common planning periods to create common student centered
lesson plans. Teachers collaborate on common assessments and analyzing assessment data to
reach students where they are at. Some teachers utilize web based test practice which allows
teachers to provide individualized student support and remediation to struggling students.
The graduation rate continues to improve at Hillcrest High School. Rhonda Orr, Assistant
Principal of Instruction continues to track students that are failing or withdraw. Under Mrs.
Orr’s guidance a Graduation Rate manual was created and is used to outline the duties and
responsibilities of those monitoring enrollments and withdrawals. Further, Leigh Anne Terry,
the Assistant Principal for seniors, closely monitors students who are at risk of not graduating.
Mrs. Terry and Senior Guidance Counselors Ms. Monson and Ms. House, mentored students,
regularly contacted parents and had students sign contracts to improve student achievement.
As faculty and staff positions become available, administration continues to hire highly qualified
teachers for all positions. The same effort is made for long term substitutes that may be placed
in the event a teacher is going to be out long term.
Hillcrest High School continues to work diligently to create a school environment supportive of
students needs with regard to learning. School safety is a priority and safety drills are conducted
regularly according to district and state guidelines. Key card access monitors are used to control
access to the building. All visitors check in through the front office before proceeding elsewhere
in the building. Hillcrest High School continues to follow the GCSD’s lead in promoting the
“Ignore the Door” and “Stop the Prop” campaigns in which students are taught to never open or
prop an exterior door for anyone. Parents are an integral part of the education process. Hillcrest
High School provides many opportunities for parents to participate in school events and stay
current with their student’s progress through:
● District, school and teacher websites
● School and teacher e-mail
● School information app
● Financial Aid and Scholarship Information Webpage
● School Marquee
● Parent portal access
● Phone messenger and e-mail messenger
● Quarterly progress reports and report cards
● IGP meetings and the IGP Parent Workshop Meeting
● PTA Newsletter

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 ● School Athletic Website
● School concerts, athletic events, and open houses
● 8th Grade Parent Awareness Night for rising 9th grade students
● Curriculum Night for rising 9th grade students
● Orientation for freshman and their parents
● Senior Night for seniors and their parents
● Greenhouse Spring plant and Holiday plant sales
● Spirit Week events such as pancake breakfasts, silent auctions, yard sales, and golf
outings

Hillcrest High School will continue to be a source of pride for the Simpsonville and Fountain Inn
area through the combined efforts of all stakeholders.

G. Bryan Skipper, Principal

Denise Borrelli, Instructional Coach
March 31, 2017

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 Hillcrest High School History

The birth of organized, public education in the Simpsonville, Mauldin and Fountain Inn areas
began in the mid to late 1800’s. In Simpsonville, the first schoolhouse was built in 1882,
followed by Simpsonville High School established in 1885. The high school was accredited in
1915 and one year later was the first school in Greenville County to add the 11th grade to its
curriculum. By 1876 Mauldin students were attending the first “free school” in that area. The
school was located in a pine log building near Poplar Springs Baptist Church. Students were
expected to attend for five years, three months each year, where they learned spelling, reading
and arithmetic. In that day all schools in the area evolved around the planting and harvesting
seasons. A school for the Fountain Inn community was established in 1886.
These schools, as was the custom of the day, were open to whites only. Under the leadership of
the Reedy River Baptist Association the Simpsonville High School for blacks began in 1886. It
was replaced by the Rosenwald School in 1923. In 1954 Bryson High School was built to
replace the deteriorating Rosenwald School. After desegregation in 1970, the students from
Bryson High School joined the enrollment at Hillcrest High School.

In the spring of 1957, a small group met to establish the foundation of a new high school to
accommodate the Simpsonville, Mauldin, and Fountain Inn areas. A committee of nine,
composed of three representatives from each area school, met to decide on a name for the new
school. The committee made a community-wide request for name suggestions. The Tribune, the
local newspaper, published the 78 suggestions sent to the committee. Among the suggestions
were “Triangle,” “Southern,” “Hillcrest,” “F.S.M. Consolidated,” and “Quil-Ma-Ville High
School.” The last suggestion was an attempt to consolidate the three towns: “Quil” represented
Robert Quillen, a famous author from Ft. Inn, “Ma” represented the Mauldin community, and the
“Ville” was to represent Simpsonville. From that long list of names, the committee selected the
name Hillcrest submitted by Miss Daisy Stone. The committee felt the word Hillcrest reflected
the terrain of the landscape, an impressive 84-acre knoll, chosen as the building site. The name
Hillcrest was appealing also because “of the poetic quality of the spoken word and its beauty in
writing of print.” The committee selected red and white as the school colors, and the “Ram” as
the school mascot. Black was added as a school color in the 1970’s.
On September 3, 1957, the school opened its doors to 1065 students from Simpsonville, Mauldin
and Fountain Inn, grades 7-12. The school was built by Triangle Construction Company at the
cost of $1,050,000. The two-acre school building was built to serve 1400 students with 52
teaching stations.

Mr. Henry P. Bennett earned the distinction of being the first person to serve as principal of
Hillcrest High School. The assistant principal was Mr. B.T. Julian. This first administration and
staff faced the enormous task of unifying three communities who had been archrivals, especially
in the world of athletics. The efforts of these adults paid off. Under the guidance of Mr. Bennett,
the transition from three communities to one student body was successful. Mr. Bennett will long
be remembered for his untiring efforts toward this goal.

On January 26, 1958, the school was dedicated “to the education of the young people in the
community.” The principal speaker, Dr. J.A. Barry, Jr., president of Coker College and graduate
19
of Fountain Inn High School, dedicated the building “to the principles that ought and can mean
the most to us tomorrow.” W.E. Freeman, Jr., the architect, presented the keys to the building to
Thomas K. Johnstone, Jr., chairman of the school board of trustees. In honor of this ceremony,
Miss Pamela Koon, Hillcrest High School Choral Director, borrowed poetic words written by
Mr. William Hickman, algebra teacher, about the school and set them to music. This song,
applauded enthusiastically for its beautiful tune and stirring words, was accepted as the Hillcrest
High School Alma Mater.

On June 5, 1958, Hillcrest High School awarded its first diplomas to 104 graduating seniors. In
1962, the school applied for accreditation. A committee from the Southern Association of
Secondary Schools and Colleges evaluated the school. On November 27 Hillcrest High School
became accredited. Hillcrest Middle School took the sub-freshman class in 1969 and a new
Mauldin High School was built in 1972 to serve that community.

Thirty-five years later, in 1992, a new and larger Hillcrest High School, located adjacent to the
original school, was built to accommodate overcrowding and expected growth in the
Simpsonville and Fountain Inn areas. The former Hillcrest High School now serves as Bryson
Middle School and is the primary feeder to Hillcrest High School. An ongoing challenge of
Hillcrest High School is to serve the diverse needs and interests of these communities while
promoting commonality among the student body. To this end the school has experienced much
success. Fountain Inn Police Chief A. Keith Morton states, “Hillcrest High School is the
beginning of teenage transformation into adulthood. The school is a vital portion of our
community and helps shape our future leaders.” Today, the Golden Strip Community continues
to grow at an amazing pace. Hillcrest High School has already outgrown its 1800 student
capacity. The present enrollment is approximately 2100 students, making Hillcrest High School
one of the largest high schools in Greenville County.

Principals of Hillcrest High School

Henry Bennett 1957/1958 – 1963/1964
Hugh Chastain 1964/1965 – 1971/1972
Bob Simmons 1972/1973
Max Looper 1973/1974 – 1976/1977
Dennis Varner 1977/1978 – 1979/1980
Leroy Hamilton 1980/1981
Bob Hayes 1981/1982 – 1982/1983
Leroy Hamilton 1983/1984 – 1986/1987
Keith Russell 1987/1988 – 1989/1990
Leroy Hamilton 1990/1991 – 1997/1998
Talmadge Gray 1998/1999 – 2002/2003
Stephen Chamness 2003/2004 – 2013/2014
G. Bryan Skipper 2014/2015 – Present

20
 School Personnel for 2016 – 2017

Teachers
Agriculture 2
Business 6
English 17
Fine Arts 5.7
Family & Consumer Science 2
Foreign Language 6.8
Math 17
Physical Education 5
Science 14
Driver’s Education Teacher 1
Social Studies 16
Special Education 9.5
English as a Second Lang. 1
Administration
Principal 1
Assistant Principals 5
Administrative Assistant 1
Instructional Coach 1
Athletic Director 1
Support Staff
Secretary 1
Office Clerks 3
Bookkeeper 1
Guidance Counselors 7.8
Guidance Clerks 2
In School Suspension 1
Hall Monitor 2
Resource Officers 2
Media Specialists 2
Media Center Clerk 1
Nurses 2
Attendance Clerks 3
Special Education Aides 3
Cafeteria Manager 1
Cafeteria Staff 15
Plant Engineer 1
Maintenance Staff 15
Total 174.8

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Certification Initial Certificates Teachers Currently in Professional
Status PACE Teachers ADEPT (Completed ADEPT)

Number of
8 14 103
Teachers

Percentage 6.48% 11.2% 82.3%

Certification & Endorsement Advanced Gifted &

Areas National Board Placement Talented
Faculty and Staff 9 34 29

Percentage 7.1% 27.2% 23.2%

Faculty Ethnicity
African American 4
Caucasian (Non-Hispanic) 118
Hispanic 1
Other 1
Faculty Gender
Male 45 = 36%
Female 80 = 64%

It is noted that the faculty ethnicity is disproportional to the student population and the ethnicity
of the surrounding area. However, Hillcrest High School continues to place an emphasis on
hiring more teachers with diverse backgrounds.

22
 Student Demographics

Hillcrest High School is one of the two largest schools in the Greenville County School
District.

Year 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

Total
2138 2131 2104 2097 2069
Population

African- 502=23% 473=22 466=22% 486 = 23.2% 507 = 25%

American

Caucasian
(Non- 1323=62% 1350=63% 1349=64% 1352 = 64.5% 1336 = 65%
Hispanic)

Hispanic 189=9% 186=9% 192=9% 166 = 7.9% 153 = 7%

Other 125=6% 122=6% 97=5% 93 = 4.4% 73 = 4%

Females 1044=49% 1041=49% 1003=48% 983 = 46.9% 967 = 47%

Males 1094=51% 1090=51% 1101=52% 1114 = 53.1% 1102 = 53%

23
 Free and Reduced Lunch

Year 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

Total
2138 2131 2104 2097 2069
Population

Free Lunch 587=27% 605=28% 633=30% 631 = 30% 644 = 31%

Reduced
119=6% 128=6% 152=7% 141 = 7% 140 = 7%
Lunch

33.0% 34.3% 37.3%

Total % 36.3% 37.8%

Special Education

Year 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

Autism 15 19 19 11 12
Educable Mentally
Disabled - (EMD) 12 9 7 6 8
Emotionally Disabled
(ED) 7 7 16 8 8
Other Health
Impairment (OHI) 40 19 27 29 18
Learning Disability
(LD) 196 140 127 191 150
Orthopedic
Impairment (OH) 1 1 1 0 0
Total Students w/
Disabilities 272=13% 249=12% 216=10% 245 = 12% 196 = 9%

24
 Limited English Proficiency Students

2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13

160=7% 129=5% 106 = 5% 158 = 6.1% 87 = 3%

Students with Limited English Proficiency receive instruction from our ESOL teacher either in a
classroom setting, inclusion class or through itinerant individualized instruction.

For five years our ESOL teaching position was a half time position and for the 2014-2015 school
year it increased to a .7 position. In 2015-16 the position increased to a full time position and
remains a full time position for 2016-17.

Instructional Schedule

Prior to 2013-14 Hillcrest High School followed a block schedule for five consecutive years,
moving from an A day/B day block schedule to the 4x4 block schedule in 2008-09. Teachers
previously taught three 90 minute classes and had one 90 planning period. Since 2013-14
Hillcrest High School returned to a seven period schedule and for the 2015-16 school year
Hillcrest High School has continued the seven period schedule. Teachers are assigned duties to
help ensure the safety of students on campus. Duties include, but are not limited to hall duty,
common area duty, parking lot duty, bus duty, or cafeteria supervision.

School
2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13
Year

Schedule
7 Period Day 7 Period Day 7 Period Day 7 Period Day 4x4 Block
Type

Class
50 minutes 50 minutes 50 minutes 50 minutes 90 minutes
Length

25
 Department and Focus Area Reports 2016-17

Administration

Dr. Bryan Skipper completed his third year as Principal of Hillcrest High School in 2015-16.
Mrs. Bianca Jamison and Jay Freeman served as the assistant principals over the Freshman
Academy. Mrs. Virginia Doolittle served as administrator over the tenth grade and Mr. Ken
Ashworth served as the eleventh grade Assistant Principal, Mrs. Leigh Anne Terry as the twelfth
grade Assistant Principal, and Mrs. Rhonda Orr as the Assistant Principal of Curriculum and
Instruction.

The Hillcrest High School Administrative Team continued to collaborate, embrace new
technology, and to give immediate feedback and support to teachers. As instructional leaders,
administrators reviewed student data and test scores and assisted teachers in writing student
learning objectives. They also worked with teachers to determine which students needed
additional support, to make teachers aware of student’s strengths and weaknesses and to better
equip teachers to meet individual student needs.

Teachers were given opportunities to participate in many professional development opportunities

and to join in a professional learning community. This year eight teachers were chosen to be part
of a Digital Learning Community to help prepare the entire faculty as Hillcrest High School goes
one to one with student Chromebooks next year. The administration continued to implement
methods to improve the graduation rate. Senior students were given the attendance and academic
expectations at the beginning of the year and at every progress report. Individual intervention
conferences were held with each senior who was failing a class, and opportunities were given for
students to take online credit recovery classes. A full time facilitator was utilized again this year
so that students could have the opportunity to take credit recovery classes or initial credit classes
every period of the school day. In addition, we began a mentor program for our at-risk ninth
graders.

Once again, administrators organized math tutoring sessions to help students prepare for the
EOC test. For the third year, a motivational assembly for students, a night-time parent assembly
called Test Prep Tuesday to educate parents on ways to help their child, and an in-house field trip
that provided individual remediation, and EOC class competitions for students. A Curriculum
Night was held to provide necessary information to our upperclassman and a second one was
held for rising ninth graders about the Freshman Academy Finally, AP Night allowed parents
and students to fully understand the expectations and requirements of AP classes.

English

The English Department has the largest teaching faculty of all the departments, with sixteen full-
time and two part-time English teachers. The department offers a full complement of the
required English courses at the college preparatory, honors, and Advanced Placement levels.
Elective courses in the department include Creative Writing, Speech & Debate, SAT Preparation,
Teacher Cadet and Yearbook.
26
Our department has two National Board Certified Teachers, and one teacher who are certified
online educators and who teach virtual English classes for South Carolina Virtual School and the
Greenville County Virtual School Program in addition to teaching full-time at Hillcrest.
The English department embraces technology and utilizes it to engage students in 21st Century
learning and to prepare them for college as well as careers. Ms. Christie Colvin represents the
department on our school’s Digital Learning Community leadership team. English teachers
regularly use Google docs and Google classroom with their students and also utilize educational
apps on iPads and the Chromebooks. The app Remind 101 is utilized by several English teachers
to communicate with students via third-party text to remind them of upcoming due dates and
assignments. The yearbook staff moved to completely online, paperless yearbook production. All
layouts, deadlines, and submissions are now done over the Internet.

This year all English teachers are teaching South Carolina English standards in their classes
using the Atlas Rubicon curriculum tool and resources created by Greenville County School
District English teachers under the supervision of ELA Academic Specialist, Debbie Barron.
Utilizing the USA Test Prep interactive website, freshman English teachers are focused on
helping their students acquire the necessary skills to meet the new challenges that the standards
require in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and critical thinking to prepare them for the
English I End of Course exam.

In AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition classes, students

participated in a mock AP exam on a Saturday in March, giving them practice for the AP exams
given nationally in May. Our AP students also continue to work with Albert (an online series of
multiple choice questions) enabling one to be successful on AP exams.

In English 4 Honors classes, students participated in the Junior Achievement. Ms. Acker, Ms.
Colvin and Mrs. Prince had guest speakers from the Art Institute. Mrs. Prince also had a Junior
Achievement volunteer work with her English 4 CP class for 8 weeks ("Strategies for Success"
curriculum). Several of the English 4 teachers are also having a speaker from Greenville
Technical College speak to the seniors regarding their next steps in higher education.
Some of our English 2 classes during their reading of Speak had a guest speaker from the Julie
Valentine Center. Shauna Galloway-Williams gave an interactive presentation that included;
facts/stats about real-life issues found in the book, a real survivor's story, and how to prevent or
help friends if they experience some of the same things that were mentioned in the novel. She
discussed the novel with the students and asked them to compare the character's story to the real-
life survivor's story.

English 2 Honors students made cloth shoes for children in Uganda for the organization Soles for
Hope during our study of A Long Way Gone. Jiggers are a life changing factor which keep
children from being able to walk to school. With the shoes made from denim, children receive
the protection they need to live a normal life.

The Freshman Academy held a “Back to Books” week in December in which they encouraged
students to read for pleasure. The week featured dress-up days based on literature, contests and
other incentives. The Freshman Academy will hold its annual Poetry Slam assembly in the
spring. Students in all English classes write original poems and hold classroom contests to
27
choose a representative best poet from each class. Then these twenty poets compete by reading
their work on stage in front of the freshman student body. Trophies and gift certificates are
awarded for First Place, Second Place, Third Place, People’s Choice Award, and Honorable
Mention.

Freshman Academy English teachers JoAnne Bachman, Ronda Duncan have continued the Book
Club here at HHS this year. Each month, students meet to discuss a book they have all read.
Students began the club by reading some of the Young Adult award nominees, and they have
continued to choose engaging young adult tiles on a wide range of topics. The club has been very
popular with students from all grade levels. The English teachers in freshman academy also had
a Poe Quilt Contest in Mrs. Duncan’s and Mrs. Bachman’s English I CP Classes (winning poems
in hallway). Back to Books week in the academy was another success with teachers dressing up
as characters from various famous books. This activity lead into collecting donations for a media
center project that purchases children’s books. A collection of clothes and school supplies for a
fellow ninth grade needy student was also handled by our students.

The Teacher Cadet class, under the supervision of English teacher Lisa Vierow, conducted in-
house field trips for local day care and elementary school students to enjoy Christmas picture
books and a "winter wonderland" of decorated trees, as well as a surprise visit from Santa Claus.
The class along with Mrs. Vierow and Mr. Bill Evans planned and held a Christmas Tea
fundraiser which included performances by speech and debate speakers and holiday music from
the strings orchestra. They repeatedly provided teacher appreciation treats for teachers and staff
at HHS throughout the year. They also created and shared electronic books with the students at
Washington Center.

Hillcrest High School Speech and Debate Team which is led by English Teacher, Jeremey
Darnell, travels across the state and country to compete. Currently, the Hillcrest High School
Speech and Debate team is ranked in the top 5 in the state of South Carolina. The 2016-17 year
has seen 3 individual state championships as well as ranking first runner up in the state
tournament. Currently, the Speech and Debate team consists of 40 students from all four grade
levels. The team has competed in 10 tournaments across the region for the 2016-17 school year
and 6 students have qualified to reach the National Speech and Debate tournament in Kansas
City, Missouri.

Mathematics

Hillcrest High offers a variety of mathematics courses beginning with Algebra 1 through
Calculus. It offers Advanced Placement Calculus AB and BC as well as AP Statistics and AP
Computer Science. Classes are offered at the college preparatory, advanced and honors levels.
Beyond the standard Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus classes, the Math
Department also offers College Prep Probability and Statistics, and Algebra 3.

Technology usage pervades all math classrooms. All mathematics classrooms are equipped with
Promethean ActivBoards. These digital whiteboards provide the opportunity for teachers to
create student centered interactive lessons and activities. The boards also allow teachers to use
Activotes, ActivExpressions, and ClassFlow. These devices give every student the chance to
28
participate and answer questions. Many of the mathematics teachers also use Texas Instruments’
Smartview software which is a graphing calculator emulator. Geometer’s Sketchpad, Desmos
and Geogebra are used for exploration and demonstration of geometry and trigonometry
concepts. Several teachers are incorporating the flipped classroom concept where students view
videos as their “homework” and then use class time to work practice problems with the teacher
and classmates there to aide progress and understanding. Graphing calculators are used daily to
explore concepts in depth. We have just added TI NSpire CAS calculators as well as a TI
Navigator system. We recently acquired a 3D printer that will be used in conjunction with an
after school club with a focus on basic coding languages.

Mathematics teachers at Hillcrest have been recognized by their colleagues having been named
Teacher of the Month for the school and Teacher of the Year for Freshman Academy.

Freshman Academy Algebra 1 teachers plan collaboratively in order to maximize EOC scores.
Algebra 1 teachers also use USA Test Prep software for EOC practice. One teacher offered
Saturday study sessions to prepare for EOC.

All teachers collaborate with others who teach the same courses. Common assessment is the
norm. Many teachers incorporate projects that allow for students to demonstrate their learning in
nonstandard formal assessment settings.

Statistics students participate in projects that involve collecting and analyzing data gathered from
throughout the school. Our geometry teachers incorporate projects where students draw blue
prints and then construct models of three-dimensional objects, bridges, kites, and more.

Geometry students design and then build kites that are revamped and redesigned until they will
actually fly incorporating many geometric concepts that have been learned in class to a real
project.

Social Studies

The Hillcrest High Social Studies department offers a full contingent of classes to meet the
requirements for the state diploma: World Geography, World History, U.S. History,
Government and Economics. In addition, elective courses including Law Education, Sociology,
Current World Issues, and Psychology are offered. The Social Studies Department offers more
Honors and Advanced Placement classes than any other department at the school including AP
Human Geography, AP World History, AP U. S. History, AP Government, AP Macroeconomics,
and AP Psychology. There are also Honors level courses in World Geography, World History,
US History, Government and Economics.

Over the past two years both the U. S. History and World Geography teachers have placed a
special emphasis on collaborative planning. They have created common unit concepts, common
projects, common syllabus and pacing guides as well as assessments with similar concepts. The
U. S. History EOC passage rate has shown an increase the past two years. The 2014-2015 results
were 78.6%. The 2015-2016 results were 82%. In both years our students scored higher than the
state average.
29
Similarly, teacher teams and team leaders are also implementing similar changes in World
History, American Government, and Economics. Our goal was to ensure that the state standards
for each course were being taught, pacing was age appropriate, common concepts were taught
and tested, and that teacher teams would maintain common pacing. Team leaders keep the group
focused on its goals and make sure that the long range pacing guide is being followed.

Annually, our Social Studies department presents a senior student with the Lee Bradford Social
Studies Award. This student is not limited to AP scholars. It also factors in school
extracurricular activities and community involvement. Our past recipients usually have taken on
average 5 social studies courses during their high school experience, maintaining not only an A
average but also have to be civic minded and a quality person.

Our department boasts a strong cadre of teachers. In 2015, our department had a member who
helped to rewrite the U.S Government, Economics and World History mapping guide on Atlas.
Atlas offers a guide line for pacing, common objectives and units that correspond to the State
Standards. Atlas also offers model lessons, activities and assessment for each of these classes as
well.

Several of our teachers serve as mentors to new teachers. Mentors work closely with our new
department members and help them to improve classroom methodology and pedagogy. Each
new teacher receives guidance creating an Assertive Discipline Plan, how to do parent
communication and documentation, IEP/504 meetings, and to prepare for administration and
third-evaluator teacher observations as well as unannounced walk through visits or practice PAS-
T observations by their mentor or the department chair. Our goals for the next several years will
be to align all assessments whether traditional paper and pencil or project based assessments to
State Content Standards and to implement them in all courses offered by our department. Two of
our teachers also serve on the Digital Leadership Corp committee to help prepare for the
movement for 1:1 next year.

Science

Students must complete three units of science to meet the graduation requirement. Students may
take college preparatory, honors or advanced placement courses to meet this requirement.
Biology, chemistry and physics labs provide students with hands-on learning. Course offerings
include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy and Physiology, Marine Science, Earth Science,
Environmental studies, and AP courses in Environmental Science, Biology, and Chemistry.
Several teachers use an iPad to enhance instruction and often check out class sets of iPads for
student use as well. Science teachers use integrated technology to better assess and engage
students in content. The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Project allows students to use their
own smartphones and tablets, to perform all kinds of classroom tasks. Several teacher also use
the Google Classroom platform to better reach 21st century learners. A commitment to student
achievement both in and out of the classroom is the true strength of the HHS faculty. An active
Science Club participates in state level competitions and attends many local science events in the
area that promote STEM and STEAM initiatives.

30
Biology classes are taught in a Freshman Academy which offers extra tutoring and study
sessions with USA Test Prep designed to help increase EOC test scores. Those teachers
collaborate on a weekly basis to gauge student preparation for the EOC. Biology classes use a
digital tech book and teachers have access to Discovery Ed resources as part of this tech book
adoption.

World Languages

Learning other languages and understanding the culture of the people who speak them is a 21st
Century skill that is vital to success in the global environment in which our students will live and
work. In a 2006 report entitled, Education for Global Leadership: the Importance of
International Studies and Foreign Languages for U.S. Economic and National Security, the
Committee for Economic Development (CED) stated “To confront the twenty-first century
challenges to our economy and national security, our education system must be strengthened to
increase the foreign language skills and cultural awareness of our students. America’s continued
global leadership will depend on our students’ abilities to interact with the world community
both inside and outside our borders.” For college and career readiness, our students need to be
proficient in other languages, regardless of whether they choose to transition directly to the
workforce or to post-secondary education (21st Century Skills Map, Partnership for 21st Century
Skills). The benefits, importance, and relevance of proficiency development in world languages
cannot be over emphasized in today's world and in today's job market. Today, more than 1,200
international firms have facilities and operate in South Carolina, and this number continues to
grow (South Carolina Department of Commerce). Successful world language learning increases
opportunities for our students.

Hillcrest High School offers two world languages – Spanish and French. Our course offerings at
each level in Spanish include Spanish I CP or Spanish I CP Advanced, Spanish II CP or Spanish
II CP Advanced, Spanish III CP or Spanish III Honors and Spanish IV Honors. Course offerings
in French include French I CP, French II CP, and French III Honors.

Students in all world language courses at Hillcrest High School communicate in the target
language, gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures, connect with other disciplines,
and develop insight into the nature of language and culture. Prioritization is on developing
student proficiency in language development through a series of "Can-do" statements of learning,
with evidence of proficiency attained, as the students’ progress through the different levels of
proficiency development. Our students interact in the target language using the three modes of
communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. Hillcrest High School students
have consistently been successful in their world language courses. Students who take three or
more years of foreign language study typically receive course credit of three to twelve credits at
the college / university level for the course work they completed in high school. Gone are the
days of taking a certain number of years of study in a foreign language and not being able to
speak a word of it. Hillcrest High School students who choose to develop a strong foundation in
language and learn as much language as possible throughout their years at Hillcrest High School
will develop a significant level of proficiency.

31
In the area of technology, teachers utilize available resources, including computers, the iPad, the
Promethean Board, etc., and applications such as Google Classroom, Quizlet, Remind, etc., to
incorporate authentic materials and experiences in the classroom and enhance student success.
Mrs. Anna Cuyar has been invited to the reading and scoring of the Advanced Placement
Spanish Language and Culture Exam as a College Board AP reader since 2008. She participated
in the reading and scoring of the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam from 2008 to 2014.
Additionally, Mrs. Cuyar was nominated in 2008 and in 2014 to serve on the College Board
Standard Setting Panel for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam; this panel determines
the cut scores to place examinees in the five AP score levels for the AP Spanish Language and
Culture Exam when there is an AP exam revision.

Thirty-three current and former students are members of Hillcrest High School's Chapter of the
Spanish Honor Society, La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, Capítulo Jaime Escalante. The
Spanish Honor Society for High School Students, the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, is an honor
society for high school students sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish
and Portuguese and formally organized in 1953. The SHH recognizes high achievement of high
school students in Spanish and Portuguese. At present there are over 2,000 national and
international chapters. Students who are selected to be members of the Spanish Honor Society
have demonstrated mastery of Spanish III, as well as Spanish IV Honors or AP Spanish
Language and Culture or AP Spanish Literature and Culture, and have maintained a cumulative
"B" average in these courses. They also have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. The students
selected have demonstrated character, leadership, seriousness of purpose, and service and
commitment to others. Forty-seven students were candidates for membership this year. The
Hillcrest High School Chapter of the Spanish Honor Society was established in 2012. Mrs. Anna
Cuyar, chapter founder and sponsor, is also the State Director for South Carolina of the Spanish
Honor Society.

We are proud of our students’ accomplishments in world languages at Hillcrest High School and
look forward to even greater levels of student success in the future.

Agricultural Sciences

The Agricultural Science Department offers courses in animal care, wildlife management,
outdoor recreation, horticulture, greenhouse management, landscape technology and agricultural
business management. Completer certificates are offered to students who finish a minimum of
four classes within a pathway in the department. The department works closely with outside
organizations such as the Future Farmers of America, National and State Young Farmer & Agri-
Business Association, animal rescue groups and the South Carolina Department of Natural
Resources. The horticulture program maintains a greenhouse on campus and provides funding
for their programs through their annual Fall Plant Sale, Poinsettia Sale and Spring Plant Sale.
The horticulture program also works with other schools and civic organizations in the area on
projects such as school gardens, greenhouse tours, and community improvement projects. The
department also maintains an equipment barn and cares for two courtyards within the school and
an outdoor classroom that are available for teachers to use as alternate locations for class.

Family and Consumer Sciences

32
Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) is the comprehensive body of skills, research and
knowledge that helps people make informed decisions about their well-being. Hillcrest High
School currently offers elective courses in Child Development 1 and 2; Foods & Nutrition 1 and
2 and Sports Nutrition.

The department is comprised of two teachers. The Hillcrest High School Family and Consumer
Sciences department offers students the opportunity to become members of the Family, Career,
and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) student organization. This year seven students
attended the SCFCCLA Spring Leadership Conference in Charleston, SC. A total of six students
competed in STAR Events. Four students placed gold and will move on to represent the state of
South Carolina at the National Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN.

The FCS Department is fully committed to community outreach. The Child Development
students created an onsite preschool learning experience for the Frazee Center. Child
Development Students also create and work with the Young Athletes section of Special
Olympics.

Eighteen students graduating in 2017 will receive a Career Concentration certificate for
completing two levels of FCS and an additional course.

Business

The Hillcrest High School Business Department is one of the largest in Greenville County. There
are six full-time business teachers instructing approximately 900 students each day. Through
guidelines set by the South Carolina State Department of Education, Hillcrest High School offers
completer certificates in Accounting, Business Finance, General Management, and Business
Information Management. In order to receive a certificate, students must earn a total of four
business units made up of two required courses and two business electives in each certificate
area. The students have a total of thirteen business courses to pick from which include:
Accounting 1 and 2, Business Law, Business Finance, Computer Applications, Computer
Programming, Digital Desktop Publishing, Entrepreneurship, Foundations of Animation, Image
Editing, Integrated Business Applications 1, Keyboarding, and Web Page Design. A number of
Hillcrest High School students earn a state certificate by the end of their senior year and some
even earn certificates in more than one area of business. An awards ceremony and luncheon is
provided by the department for seniors receiving certificates. Parents are invited and encouraged
to attend. All of the Business Department teachers have a Master’s Degree. All of the business
teachers take classes and/or professional development workshops to stay current on technology
and software as these factors are constantly changing in the business world.

Fine Arts

The Hillcrest High School Band Program had a great marching season receiving several superior
ratings and received The Grand Champion Award at the Chesnee Band Contest. The band also
received an Excellent rating at the South Carolina 5A State Marching Contest. The Band
continues to place students in the All County and Region 1 band.
33
The Hillcrest High School Chorus Program placed a record number of students in the South
Carolina All State Chorus this year and consistently receives Superior ratings at the South
Carolina Choral festival.

The Hillcrest High School Strings Program features three classes of various abilities. The
program sends students to the All State Orchestra and received excellent and superior ratings at
the South Carolina Concert Festival Competition

The Hillcrest High School Drama Program produces two plays each year and is a growing
section on the fine arts program. This program allows students to explore their creativity in
acting, stage production and stage management.

The Fine Arts department conducted several video conference calls in the 2016-17 school year in
effort to maintain student centered lessons that integrate technology into the classroom. Several
classes had to the opportunity to Zoom with the Creative Director of Editorial Content at
Amazon.com on November 1, 2016. This was an exciting opportunity for our Hillcrest students
because John Herd, Amazon Creative Director is a former Hillcrest High student. Mr. Herd
designs the Amazon.com homepage and was able to discuss his successful career with our
students in a live video conference call.

The Fine Arts Department also conducted a virtual college visit with Winthrop University on
February 10, 2017. Hillcrest High students had the opportunity to Zoom with nine Winthrop
University professors and a number of current and past students were involved in the Zoom
virtual tour. Students were taken on a virtual tour throughout the Winthrop University art facility
by former student and Asst. Professor of Art, Seth Rouser. This allowed our students to be
introduced to each program offered by Winthrop and students were able to see sample art work
created by Winthrop’s Foundations students.

Fine Arts Teacher, Eva Esrum was published in the October 2016 issue of Arts & Activities
Magazine. Ms. Esrum’s article, Partnering: Creative Career Exploration described how
partnering with a local business can have a positive impact on her students and their school
community. The project consisted of anatomy, physical therapy and advertising. Once again, our
Hillcrest High students had the opportunity for an interactive field trip.

Teachers, Ms. Esrum and Mrs. Merrell, co-sponsors of the Hillcrest High School National Art
Honor Society (NAHS), took student members to NAHS State Conference in Columbia, South
Carolina on Saturday, March 11, 2017. The conference took place at the Columbia Museum of
Art. College representatives were present to speak to students about their portfolios. Several
workshops were given and a tour of the Art Museum proved to be a wonderful experience for
our students. For example, some of the workshops attended by our students included: etching,
charcoal techniques and logo design. Also, students had the opportunity to eat lunch together in
front of the museum. Also, the NAHS students baked cookies for a local girls' home.

Hillcrest is proud to announce that student, Victoria Applegate, is one of four students in the
District to be asked to interview with Town Magazine. Several art works from different high
34
schools across the District were selected to be in the magazine, but only four students and their
teachers will be interviewed. The article is about Artisphere and the annual high school art show
that occurs in downtown Greenville in front of the Marriott Hotel. Miss Applegate’s self-portrait
of her hanging upside down was the drawing that gave her this opportunity and is displayed in
Hillcrest High School’s main office.

Last Spring, we had two students get into Converse Colleges Young Women in Art
competition. One student received second place in the Upstate and the same student also won
second place in a Greenville County School District competition, Painting in Artisphere.

Physical Education/Driver’s Education

Physical Education Department continues to strive to offer a wide variety of activities with an
emphasis on meeting and maintaining the South Carolina State Standards for Physical Fitness.
We also endeavor to enhance the student’s social skills, their team building skills and most
importantly for each student to have fun!

Freshmen make up the majority of the students that are required to take Physical Education 1 to
meet the graduation requirement. Students are also offered various different electives which
include Weight Lifting; Strength, Agility, and Plyometrics; Team Sports; Leisure Sports; and
Driver’s Education.

The addition of a PE Classroom and a Multi-Purpose Gym in the spring of 2012 has allowed the
Physical Education Department to meet the needs of all students that wish to participate in any of
the classes offered.

English Speakers of Other Languages

The ESOL program at HHS serves approximately 115 students yearly. An additional 67 students
who have been exited from ESOL are monitored regularly throughout the school year. Services
include consultation with classroom teachers, providing accommodation and modification plans,
assisting students in the classroom (inclusion) as well as actual courses offered as an elective for
credit. In addition, the Greenville County offers Rosetta Stone that can be accessed from the
classroom or from the home for the student and the parent to help build and support language
acquisition. Parent meetings are held 4 time during the year.

Mrs. Freitas is assigned to Hillcrest High School as a full time ESL teacher. She teaches four
periods of ESOL every day and supports students in the academic content area classrooms.
ESOL elective courses are designed to give Limited English Proficient students instruction in the
English language. These elective courses address state standards for developing English
proficiency by stressing vocabulary, oral language, reading, and writing skills. They may be
leveled as an ESOL I class or an ESOL II class, or a single ESOL class may serve a range of
competency levels. When a single course is offered, the ESOL teacher differentiates the
curriculum to meet the variety of competency levels of students. ESOL teachers may, at times,
tutor students in assignments for mainstream classes, but an ESOL elective course is not a
resource class for LEP students to work on mainstream class assignments. In settings where core
35
teachers collaborate with the ESOL teacher, it may be possible to integrate the curriculum of the
two courses. For example, students in a social studies class may be required to prepare a
classroom presentation on a researched topic. Since reading, writing, and speaking are part of
the ESL curriculum, it may be possible for both the social studies teacher and the ESOL teacher
to support and evaluate the work of the students. Integration, however, is a two-way street. To
be effective, core teacher and ESL teacher need to plan together how the integration will bridge
both classrooms and reciprocally support English language proficiency and core content
standards.

Many nations and languages are represented in the student body at Hillcrest High School.
Students from Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, India, China, Egypt,
Micronesia, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Guyana,
India, Iraq, Germany, Greece, Kenya, Poland and Russia have participated and continue to
participate in the program. Part of the curriculum includes studying American culture, as well as
celebrating the cultures of the individual students. ESL students are well integrated into the
student body. They participate in sports, clubs, drama, band, orchestra, and choir. Some ESL
students attend the Career Centers for half a day. Many students are involved in business, art,
agriculture, honors, and even advanced placement classes. Hillcrest High School welcomes and
includes those students learning the English language.

Special Education

Resource Department State Diploma

The Resource Department provides academic support for students with disabilities who are
working on a state high school diploma. Some students need daily support for academics,
organization, and/or behavioral support. Others only need support weekly to get help with
writing research papers or to complete tests. Our goal is to assist our students in meeting their
educational needs as identified in their IEP.

While the Resource Department does not have Promethean Boards in their rooms (due to the size
of the room), most teachers have already taken courses and in-services in Activinspire or other
technology classes such as ALIVE. The district offers a Technology Conference during the
summer that teachers attend also.

Occupational Diploma Program

The Occupational Diploma program provides students with disabilities a curriculum with a focus
on vocational and academic pursuits along with work experiences. This program provides skills
training, job readiness, and employability skills. The Occupational Diploma Program is an
alternative curriculum that features functional academics that are aligned with state and federal
academic standards. The IEP team determines the appropriateness of the Occupational Diploma
program based on the individual needs of the student.

The Occupational Diploma program is comprised of 3 required components:

1. Academic Coursework (core classes are taught in special education classes and electives are
taught in regular education classes)
36
2. Job Training / Employment: students must participate in 360 hours of documented
employment and / or complete a Career and Technology Education (CATE) course.
3. Portfolio

Students are required to complete 24 units to graduate:

Occupational English 4
Occupational Math 4
Occupational Science/Health 4
Occupational Career Prep/Social Studies 4
Career/Technical Education 3
Physical Education 1
Electives 4

During 10th grade students take 2 special education classes at the career center:

1. Career Development I and II: includes Work Keys Training, Serve Safe Certification, CPR
and First Aide Certification, Goal Setting and Career Interest Planning
2. Career Rotation I and II: provides hands on training and shadowing in regular education
classes such as culinary arts, welding, construction, and automotive repair.

Transition Services focus on academic and functional achievements to facilitate moving from
school to post school life.

During 11th and 12th grades students participate in job training and employment or complete a 2
year career education course at the career center.
Supported Employment and Training Program (SET)

This gives realistic vocational training and employment opportunities to students. This prepares
students for work and independent living. A transition specialist works with students in 11th and
12th grade. The transition specialist communicates with businesses to develop partnerships and
employment opportunities for students. Juniors are required to participate in non-paid training
and job shadowing. Seniors are required to successfully complete 360 hours of paid employment.
Students are provided transportation to job sites to receive job training and employment hours.
Students are working in the community in places such as: BI-LO, Railhouse Restaurant, James
Monroe Mission House, First Presbyterian Church Food Pantry, Charley’s Restaurant, The
Glazing Pot, Ross and Macy’s Department Stores, Pizza Inn, McDonalds Restaurant, Tractor
Supply, Wendy’s Restaurant, Extreme Tee’s, and North American Rescue.

The Hillcrest High School Occupational Department was honored with a grant by The Center for
Disability Resources at the University Of South Carolina School Of Medicine as the top high
school in the state for providing transition services to students with intellectual disabilities.

Students are learning to use cooking skills to supplement their academic classes. They are also
learning job skills related to the food and restaurant industry by planning menus, taking orders
and preparing lunches to the business class. This is being done with the classroom kitchen that
was used with the grant money. Students are working with business classes to prepare resumes
37
and learn job interview skills. Students work with technology by utilizing iPads that were
purchased with the grant money. Students have learned to fill out online job applications, write
and send emails, use search engines, and enrich academic skills using apps.

Hillcrest High School has 2 occupational teachers and 1 paraprofessional aide.

Special Education LD/Neuro Class

The LD Neuro program provides students with neurological based learning disabilities a
curriculum that focuses on vocational and social skills, academics, and work experiences. This
program serves students who are working towards both occupational diplomas and state high
school diplomas. The self-contained students participate in community based instruction, where
they are able to practice social, functional, and behavioral skills as well as career exploration in
the community. In the classroom, the academic curriculum concentrates on life and functional
skills. The resource students who are on state diploma track use the LD/Neuro class as a tutorial
setting for support of their academics, as well as their organizational, behavioral, and
social skills.

Awards
The Hillcrest High School Occupational Department, consisting of Amy Gahagan and Leslie
Scott, was honored with a grant by The Center for Disability Resources at the University Of
South Carolina School Of Medicine as the top high school in the state for providing transition
services to students with intellectual disabilities.

Amanda Walkup, resource teacher, was awarded the 2012 South Carolina Council for
Exceptional Children’s Exceptional Educator of the Year award. She was recognized at both the
SCCEC annual conference and the national CEC convention in San Antonio, TX, in 2012. She
was nominated for the Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year award through national CEC in 2012-
2013. She is currently the Recording Secretary for the South Carolina Chapter of the Council for
Exceptional Children. Mrs. Walkup was also elected as Hillcrest’s 2015-2016 Teacher of the
Year.

Ms. Peden, resource teacher, was the 2015 winner of the MARC MCE grant through Michelin.
She received three Activslates and three Activhubs for her classroom.

Every special education teacher was recently provided with two Chromebooks each through
school-level funds. The teachers will use these to enhance their own instruction, as well as
providing access to the internet and Google Apps for the students. Each teacher also has one to
three laptops for student use.

Amanda Walkup, Special Education Teacher, applied and was chosen to be a representative on
the teacher forums around the state regarding the new teacher evaluation system.

Freshman Academy

38
The Freshman Academy offers a Freshman Orientation for students and parents before the
school year starts in an effort to prepare incoming freshman with the expectations for their
freshman year.

The Hillcrest High School Freshman Academy continues to celebrate its success. Teachers offer
tutoring both in the mornings and afternoons throughout the week. The academy offers online
courses for repeating freshman. This has been a huge success so far and many of the students
will now be on track with their graduating class. The academy hosts an annual End of Course
Blitz in which multiple activities are created to prepare students for state testing. The Blitz
begins with a “Pep Rally” and a guest speaker talk about the importance of graduating high
school. The academy conducts an End of Course Parent Information Meeting to help parents and
students prepare for the expectations with regard to End of Course exams. We will have an in
house field trip in which at risk students from English, Math and Science are provided with an
opportunity for a three hour tutoring session. At the end of the year the academy hosts final
exam review sessions for each core subject. The academy meets with any at risk students to
discuss what is required to move on to the next grade level. Interventions between with at risk
students and their parents are also conducted with the assistance of guidance counselors,
administration and teachers to motivate students and develop a plan of action for their success to
complete the ninth grade.

The Freshman Academy continues to use technology to enhance student learning. Academy
teachers practice the Bring Your Own Device policy (BYOD) in which students are allowed to
use their Smart Phones or electronic devices for assignments. Many of the academy teachers use
the campus computer labs along with other electronic devices such as iPads, Chromebooks, and
laptops to do USATestprep. USATestprep is used by teachers for benchmark testing to assess
students and to collect data in an effort improve instruction and prepare students for end of
course testing.

The Freshman Academy offers many upper level classes. The Math department offers Algebra I
Honors and Geometry Honors. English also offers English I Honors. Biology offers Biology I
Honors and the Social Studies department offers Global Studies I Honors and AP Human
Geography.

School Counseling

The mission of Hillcrest High School’s Counseling department is to provide a comprehensive

program that assists all students in building their academic talents, preparing for their future
careers, and achieving social responsibility. School counselors advocate, collaborate, and
facilitate individual and systemic change to ensure all students have the knowledge and skills
necessary to achieve academic success and personal growth. In collaboration with the faculty,
parents or guardians, and the community, Hillcrest counselors assist students in finding their full
potential while achieving their personal and academic ambitions.
There are four components to the Hillcrest High School Comprehensive Guidance Program:
● School Counseling Curriculum
● Individual Planning
39
 ● Responsive Services
● Systems Support
Hillcrest High School counselors implement the state standards that address the four components
through classroom guidance, small groups, and individual counseling.

The Hillcrest High School Counseling Department also provides many support areas:
● Student Enrollment
● Course Scheduling - changes and reviews
● Progress Reports and Report Cards
● Standardized Testing
● Student Record files for current and former students
● College Research
● Career Goals and Career Cluster Exploration
● Naviance and Test Prep
● NCAA and NAIA Student Athlete Support
● Financial Aid Information
● Information regarding the Military/Armed Services
● Alternative Educational Options
● Career Exploration and Development

Our School Counseling Department works with students and parents to ensure students’ needs
are met and that students are on track for graduation. Counselors meet annually with students to
develop and review each student’s Individual Graduation Plan. Through interest assessments, job
shadowing, work-site visits, and career speakers, students evaluate their career interests.
Counselors provide various opportunities for students to explore their interests and develop their
goals. Each student meets with their guidance counselor to determine which classes best suit the
student’s needs and goals. Students have ample opportunity to investigate their interests through
many outstanding classes at Hillcrest High.

Student Council

Hillcrest High School’s Student Council provides opportunities for students to seek experiences
to exercise goodwill, service to community and school, and leadership. Once again with the
guidance of the Student Council and partnerships with the local businesses, our student body
raised $105,193.13 in support of a local charity. The Student Council also serves the students
and faculty of Hillcrest High in many supportive ways to boost school spirit and RAM pride
throughout the school year.

Technology

40
Hillcrest High School has three desktop computer labs and one laptop computer lab with 30
computers each. There are also 5 business labs with thirty student stations and nine mobile laptop
labs with thirty computers. Hillcrest High School’s internet access throughout the building is
completely wireless. Currently there are 2 iPads carts of 30 iPads for teachers to use in their
classrooms. Special education teachers have 18, and FCS has 2. All full sized classrooms have a
Promethean Board including the Media Center. The Media Center has 2 carts of 35 Nooks.
Hillcrest High is scheduled to issue personal learning devices to every Hillcrest High School
student for the 2017-18 school year. Further, we were able to add a Technology Integration
Specialist to the faculty which will facilitate the personal learning devices being issued to
students. Planning is underway to accommodate teachers and students with integration of
technology in the classroom.
The mission of the Hillcrest High School Media Center is to promote a positive reading
experience, provide equal and ethical access to information, encourage critical thinking, and
create lifelong readers and learners. The center is open from 7:45 to 4:00 daily, providing
students’ access to books, e-books, magazines, and computers. Teachers may sign up for classes
on research and internet safety.

Athletics

The Hillcrest High School athletic department is a 4-A program located in Simpsonville, South
Carolina. With our 22 varsity sports and 24 sub varsity programs, we are one of the largest
athletic departments in the state with over 800 different students from Hillcrest High School
competing for our teams. For the 2015-16 school year, Hillcrest had 14 students sign National
Letters of Intent to play sports at the college level. Since 2011 our sports teams have won 7 State
Championships. Since 2011 Hillcrest has had 11 individuals who were recognized as the
Statewide Player of the Year in their respective sport.

Sports Teams Offered: Football, Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ Basketball, Volleyball , Baseball,
Softball, Cheerleaders, Cross Country, Boys’ Golf, Girls’ Golf, Softball, Dance Team, Swim
Team (Boys and Girls), Boys’ Tennis, Girls’ Tennis, Wrestling, Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Soccer,
Boys’ Lacrosse, Girls’ Lacrosse, Boys Track and Field, Girls Track and Field.

Hillcrest High School Organizations

Academic Honor Societies

National Art Honor Society
National Beta Club
National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society – Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

Clubs
C.A.N. Club
Common Ground (GSA)
Drama
Family Career & Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
41
Forensics
Freshman Pride
Future Farmers of America
HOSA
Interact
Juniorettes
Math Club
Money Makers – Kids Raising Money for Kids
Rams Book Club
Science Club
Solid Rock
Spanish Club
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
Theater Company

Governance
Ambassadors
Leadership
Student Council
Youth in Court
Youth in Government

Academic Opportunities/Teams
Academic Bowl Team
Color Guard
Literary Magazine
Speech and Debate
Step Team
Teacher Cadets
Yearbook Staff

Music
Chorus
Jazz Band
Marching Band
Strings
Symphonic Band
Treble Ensemble

School Facilities at a Glance 2016-17

Located in the southeastern corner of Greenville County along I-385

Built in 1992
108 classrooms
Auditorium
Rams Café
Gymnasium with two auxiliary gyms
Media center with wireless access to the internet.
42
Three computer labs for instructional use
Tennis courts
Football stadium with a rubberized competition track and new concession stands
Baseball field
Softball field
Greenhouse
Agriculture barn facility.
Two (2) courtyards for instructional use and relaxation, maintained by the Hillcrest Future of
Farmers of America.

43
School Improvement Committee Report to the Community

Hillcrest is proud of its students and faculty and their accomplishments. Hillcrest High teachers
are highly qualified in their subject areas, and many of our teachers hold masters degrees,
masters plus thirty, as well as additional degree certifications such as National Board, Advanced
Placement, and Gifted and Talented. Over the last several years, the quality of teachers at
Hillcrest has shown in the increase of End of Course test scores. Hillcrest High School received
an Excellent Rating on the 2015 School Report Card.

Hillcrest offers a variety of opportunities for its students beginning with the Freshman Academy
for first-year ninth grade students. The Academy offers a separate location for all freshmen core
classes. The Freshman Academy held a Freshman Orientation prior to the start of school. More
than 400 of our new ninth grade students and their parents attended this event making it a great
success. They toured the building, met their teachers, heard about clubs and athletic opportunities
and even learned cheers. The teachers in the Academy meet regularly to plan activities and
monitor the progress of our freshmen.

Hillcrest High School offers a variety of opportunities for student involvement. This year we
began a Robotics team and they were named Rookie Team of the Year and the state competition.
Hillcrest has a Speech and Debate program that continuously has district, state and national
winners. Hillcrest’s Fine Arts Department is also a leader in our school district. Hillcrest students
were selected for All State Chorus, All State Band, and All State Strings. Hillcrest also has one
of the top athletic programs in the state with 22 varsity and 24 sub varsity teams that are
consistently some of the top athletic teams in our state. Hillcrest High School had 14 students
sign National Letters of Intent to play at sports at the college level during the 2016-17 school
year.

In addition, Hillcrest High School offers a variety of extracurricular and academic clubs to
students. Once again, our student body in partnership with the community raised over
$105.000.00 in one week in support of PAALS, a charitable organization that trains animals to
assist in educational and recreational activities for people with special needs. The local
community strongly supports Hillcrest High School in these endeavors. The Greenhouse
Industries program at Hillcrest High School sponsors plant sales throughout the year, offering
student-grown plants and flowers to the public. The program has earned almost $30,000 since its
inception and is recognized by the state as an exemplary program.

Our Guidance Department works with students and parents to ensure students’ needs are met and
that students are on track for graduation. Counselors meet annually with students to develop and
review each student’s Individual Graduation Plan. Through interest assessments, job shadowing,
work-site visits, and career speakers, students evaluate their career interests. Each student meets
with their guidance counselor to determine which classes best suit the student’s needs and goals.
Students have ample opportunity to investigate their interests through many outstanding classes
at Hillcrest High School.

44
Both academic and athletic booster clubs are strong and actively involved in providing support in
the form of time and money for our students. Our PTSA offers grant opportunities to our
teachers.

Hillcrest is dedicated to providing a safe, positive learning environment which brings together
the resources of staff, family, and our community to create the best future possible for our
students.

Mission, Vision, and Beliefs

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Hillcrest High School is to educate all students to become positive, productive
citizens equipped to meet the challenges of today’s global society.

SCHOOL MOTTO

Honor ∙ Truth ∙ Loyalty

VISION

● Involve students in curricular and extracurricular activities that enhance social,

physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being.

● Provide a wide variety of academically challenging experiences for all students

● Cultivate values of diligence, honesty, pride, achievement, and the importance of

family along with the significance of community service.

● Promote partnerships and community involvement with our school.

● Analyze relevant data concerning school processes and progress to make collective
decisions for school improvement.

TAG LINE

Today’s Learners; Tomorrow’s Leaders

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 End of Course Examinations

Algebra I Biology 1 English I US History

2015-16 83.2% 81.3% 80.6% 81.8%

2014-15 83.4% 87.6% 81.8% 82.0%

2013-14 80.8% 87.8% 82.5% 78.9%

2012-13 88.6% 86.9% 86.6% 73.2%

2011-12 77.6% 70.5% 77.3% 63.5%

SAT

Critical
Reading Math Writing Composite Gain or Loss
2015-16 478 479 454 1411 22
2014-15 475 463 451 1389 -2
2013-14 475 470 446 1391 44
2012-13 465 447 435 1347 - 22
2011-12 468 456 445 1369 -6

46
 ACT

Gain or
Reading Math English Science Composite Loss

2015-16 18.8 18.0 17.3 18.4 18.3 -2.5

2014-15 21.5 20.2 20.1 20.8 20.8 -0.1

2013-14 20.3 20.5 21.3 21.1 20.9 1.1

2012-13 20.5 19.1 18.9 20.1 19.8 -0.4

2011-12 20.8 19.7 19.6 20.3 20.2 +0.4

Advanced Placement Exams

2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12

Numbers
Enrolled 384 383 373 325 361

Number of
Exams 577 534 629 534 557

Students
Scoring 3 -5 295=51% 265=50% 249=40% 244=46% 252

Hillcrest High School offers several different Advanced Placement courses. Emphasis is placed
on student enrollment in AP classes for exposure. As a result enrollment is not limited to those
few students who are so highly qualified that they are almost guaranteed a passing grade.
Entrance into Hillcrest’s AP program is based on student desire to succeed in the class, teacher
recommendation, and success in prerequisite courses.

47
 Action Plan

HSAP % ELA
SCHOOL RENEWAL PLAN FOR 2013-14 through 2017-18

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

GOAL AREA 1: Raise the academic challenge and performance of each student.

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: Meet the state and federal accountability objectives for all students and
subgroups in writing and English Language Arts each year.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students meeting standard (Level 2
st
and above) in English Language Arts on the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) 1 attempt from
92.5% in 2012 to 95.0% in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Annually increase by 0.5 percentage point(s) students meeting standard in
English Language Arts on the High School Assessment Program (HSAP).

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card – last page

Planning
Baseline
School Name Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 93.4 94.3 95.1 96.0 96.9

Projected

School 92.5 93.1 94.6

Actual

District X X 92.9 93.9 94.9 95.9 96.9

Projected

District 91.9 92.4 91.8

Actual

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

48
 EOCEP % ENGLISH I

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in English I from 77.3% in 2012 to 80.0%
in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by 0.88 percentage point(s) annually students who meet standard
(test score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in English I.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 78.1 78.9 79.7 80.5 81.3

Projected

School Actual 77.3 86.6 83.8 81.8 80.6

District
Projected (MS X X 77.3 78.3 79.3 80.3 81.3
and HS)

District Actual 71.1 78.4

(HS only)
82.1 79.7

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

49
 HSAP % MATH

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: Meet the state and federal accountability objectives for all students and
subgroups in mathematics each year.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students meeting standard in
st
mathematics on the High School Assessment Program (HSAP) 1 attempt from 80.7% in 2012 to 89.7%
in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by 1.0 percentage points annually students meeting standard in
mathematics on the High School Assessment Program (HSAP).

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card – last page

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 82.5 84.3 86.1 87.9 89.7

Projected

School
80.7 83.4 85.1
Actual

District X X 85.7 86.7 87.7 88.7 89.7

Projected

District
81.4 86.2 82.1
Actual

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

50
 EOCEP % ALGEBRA I

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in Algebra I from 77.6% in 2012 to
83.0% in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by2.2 percentage points annually students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in Algebra I.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School Projected X X 79.8 82.0 84.2. 86.4 88.6

School Actual 77.6 88.6 81.7 83.4 83.2

District
Projected (MS X X 84.6 85.6 86.6 87.6 88.6
and HS)

District Actual 78.0 83.2 88.2 90.1

(HS only)

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

51
 ▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Meet the annual measurable objective (AMO) of 95% of students
tested for all ELA and math tests and subgroups each year from 2014 through 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Meet the annual measurable objective (AMO) of 95% of students tested for all
ELA and math tests and subgroups annually.

DATA SOURCE(S):
ESEA Federal Planning
Baseline
Accountability and SDE Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
School Report Card ELA 2012-13
– School

Projected Performance 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Actual Performance

All Students 99.3 99.2 99.6

Male 99.7 99.3 99.4

Female 98.8 99.2 100

White 99.7 99.4 99.7

African-American 98.8 98.6 99.2

Asian/Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A

Hispanic N/A 100.0 100

American
N/A N/A N/A
Indian/Alaskan

Disabled 100.0 96.1 98.3

Limited English
N/A N/A 100
Proficient

52
 Subsidized Meals 99.6 99.0 99.3

Planning
ELA – District - High Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
School 2011-12
2012-13

Projected Performance 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Actual Performance

All Students 99.0 99.1 99.7

Male 98.8 98.9 99.6

Female 99.3 99.3 99.7

White 99.0 99.2 99.7

African-American 99.0 98.7 99.6

Asian/Pacific Islander 99.3 100.0 100

Hispanic 98.9 99.4 99.7

American
100.0 N/A N/A
Indian/Alaskan

Disabled 97.5 96.8 99.1

Limited English
98.6 99.2 99.8
Proficient

Subsidized Meals 98.3 98.9 99.4

53
 Plannin
Baseline
Math – School g Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

Projected Performance 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Actual Performance

All Students 99.3 98.7 99.4

Male 99.7 98.5 99

Female 98.8 98.8 100

White 99.7 98.5 99.4

African-American 98.8 98.6 99.2

Asian/Pacific Islander N/A N/A N/A

Hispanic N/A 100.0 100

American
N/A N/A N/A
Indian/Alaskan

Disabled 100.0 92.2 96.6

Limited English
N/A N/A 100
Proficient

Subsidized Meals 99.6 98.6 99

54
 Plannin
Math – District High Baseline
g Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
School 2011-12
2012-13

Projected Performance 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Actual Performance

All Students 98.9 98.9 99.6

Male 98.6 98.7 99.4

Female 99.2 99.0 99.8

White 98.8 98.9 99.7

African-American 99.0 98.8 99.4

Asian/Pacific Islander 99.3 100.0 100

Hispanic 99.1 99.0 99.8

American
100.0 N/A N/A
Indian/Alaskan

Disabled 96.7 95.8 98.5

Limited English
98.6 98.6 100
Proficient

Subsidized Meals 98.1 98.6 99.4

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

55
 EOCEP % BIOLOGY I

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: Meet the state and federal accountability objectives for all students and
subgroups in science each year.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in Biology I from 70.5% in 2012 to 85.7%
in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by 3.0 percentage point(s) annually students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in Biology I.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 73.7 76.7 79.7 82.7 85.7

Projected

School
70.5 86.9 87.8 87.6 81.3
Actual

District X X 81.7 82.7 83.7 84.7 85.7

Projected

District
80.7 84.7 84.0 83.7
Actual

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

56
 EOCEP % US HIST/CONST I

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: Meet the state and federal accountability objectives for all students and
subgroups in social studies each year.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in US History and the Constitution from
63.5% in 2012 to 70.6% in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by 1.5 percentage point(s) annually students who meet standard (test
score of 70 or higher) on the state-mandated End of Course test in US History and the Constitution.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
School Name Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 65.0 66.5 68.0 69.5 70.6

Projected

School
63.5 73.2 79.2 82.0 81.8
Actual

District X X 66.6 67.6 68.6 69.6 70.6

Projected

District
65.6 73.1 75.1 77.8
Actual

*Information in the above tables is subject to change. Projected performance and actual performance are
dependent upon which state standardized assessment is administered as South Carolina begins full
implementation of common core standards in 2013-2014.*

57
 AP % 3+

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

PERFORMANCE STATEMENT: Increase student performance on state and national assessments,

including Advanced Placement (AP) exams, the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT), and the ACT.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percentage of students scoring 3 or above (out of a
possible 5) on all AP examinations from 46% in 2011 to 61% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase by 3 percentage points annually students scoring 3 or above (out of a
possible 5) on all AP examinations.

DATA SOURCE(S): AP report produced by the College Board

Planning
School Baseline Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Name 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13

School X X 49 52 55 58 61
Projected

School
44 45 46 40 50 51
Actual

District X X 57 58 59 60 61
Projected

District
56 53 55 54 52.6
Actual

58
 SAT AVG.

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Annually increase to meet or exceed district goals on the mean
scores on respective subtests and the mean composite score on the SAT.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Annually increase the mean score on the SAT Critical Reading section, Math
section, and Writing section by the number of points needed to meet or exceed district goals.

DATA SOURCE(S): SAT report produced by The College Board

Planning
Baseline
School Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

Critical Reading X X 474.6 481.2 487.8 494.4 501

Projected

Critical Reading 468 465

Actual
475 475 478

Math Projected X X 465.6 475.2 484.8 494.4 504

456 447
Math Actual 470 463 479

Writing X X 452 459 466 473 480

Projected

445 435
Writing Actual 446 451 454

Composite X X 1392 1415 1438 1462 1485

Projected

Composite 1369 1347

Actual
1391 1389 1411

59
 Planning
Baseline
District Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

Critical Reading X X 493 495 497 499 501

Projected

Critical Reading 491 496

Actual
499 497

Math Projected X X 496 498 500 502 504

494 492
Math Actual 496 496

Writing X X 472 474 476 478 480

Projected

470 474
Writing Actual 472 473
Composite X X 1461 1467 1473 1479 1485
Projected

Composite 1455 1462

Actual
1467 1466

60
 ACT AVG.

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Annually increase to meet or exceed the district goals for the
mean scores on respective subtests and the mean composite score on the ACT.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Annually increase the mean score on the ACT English, Math, Reading and
Science subtests by the number of point(s) to meet or exceed district goals.

DATA SOURCE(S): ACT report produced by ACT

Planning
Baseline
School Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

https://ed.sc
.gov/data/re
port-
English X X 21.0 cards/2014/ 21.4 21.6 21.7
Projected
district.cfm?
ID=230121.
2

English 20.8 18.9

Actual
20.3 17.0 17.3

Math X X 20.2 20.7 21.2 21.7 22.1

Projected

19.7 19.1
Math Actual 20.5 17.9 18.0

Reading X X 20.2 20.8 21.4 22.0 22.6

Projected

Reading 19.6 20.5

Actual
21.3 18.6 18.8

Science X X 20.7 21.1 21.5 21.9 22.1

Projected

Science 20.3 20.1

Actual
21.1 18.2 18.4

Composite X X 20.6 21.0 21.4 21.8 22.2

Projected

Composite 20.2 19.8

Actual
20.9 18.1 18.3

61
 Planning
Baseline
District Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

English X X 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7

Projected

English 21.2 21.6

Actual
21.1 17.7

Math X X 21.7 21.8 21.9 22.0 22.1

Projected

21.6 21.7
Math Actual 21.7 17.9
Reading X X 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6
Projected

Reading 22.1 22.8

Actual
22.6 19.4

Science X X 21.7 21.8 21.9 22.0 22.1

Projected

Science 21.6 21.9

Actual
21.8 19.0

Composite X X 21.8 21.9 22.0 22.1 22.2

Projected

Composite 21.5 22.1

Actual
22.0 18.9

62
 GRADUATION RATE

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the on-time (4 year cohort) student graduation rate by
1.3 percentage points each year, from 73.9% in 2012 to 80.4% in 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Increase the on-time student graduation rate by 1.3 percentage points annually.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 75.2 76.5 77.8 79.1 80.4

Projected

School
73.9 79.4 82.1 87.4 88.2
Actual

District X X 73.9 75.4 77.0 78.5 80.0

Projected

District
72.4 76.9 81.7 84.2
Actual

63
 Timeline Person
STRATEGY Responsible Estimated Funding Indicators of
Cost Sources Implementation
Activity

Renew subscription to USATestprep. Annually Inst Coach $1400 Local Funds Invoice
IC, Department Lesson Plans
Chairs, Computer Lab
Teacher use of USATestprep Department Reservations
software Ongoing Administrators None None Teacher Goals
Principal, Head
HSAP Class in the Master Schedule Ongoing of Guidance None None Master Schedule
Administrators,
Daily Review Test Questions Ongoing IC, Teachers None None Lesson Plans
Record of School
Administrator Messenger Messages,
over School School Marquee
Parent Notification of Test Dates Ongoing Communications None None Record
Careful Selection of Teachers for
High Stakes Classes Ongoing Principal None None Master Schedule
Assistant
Principal of Copies of Teachers’
Common Pacing Guides Ongoing Instruction, IC None None Syllabi
Assistant
Principal of
Instruction, IC,
Department
Administrators Record of Meeting
Collaborative Planning Meetings Ongoing and Chairmen None None Dates
Assistant
Principal of
In the Instruction, IC,
weeks just Department
prior to Administrators
Test Blitz and Practice testing and Chairmen None None School Calendar

64
 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

GOAL AREA 2: Ensure quality personnel in all positions.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Teachers will participate in professional development related
to Common Core.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: 100% of HHS teachers will participate in professional development related
to Common Core.

DATA SOURCE(S): Professional development records.

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

Projected x x 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

100% 100%
Actual 100% 100% 100%

Timeline Person
STRATEGY Responsible Estimated Funding Indicators of
Cost Sources Implementation
Activity

Professional Development Related Curriculum Professional

to Common Core will be offered at Ongoing Resource Development
the building level Annually Teacher None None Records
Professional Development related to Professional
Common core will be offered at the Ongoing Teaching and Development
district level Annually Learning Dept. None None Records

65
 STUDENT ATTENDANCE

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

GOAL AREA 3: Provide a school environment supportive of learning.

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Achieve an annual student attendance rate of 95%.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Maintain an annual student attendance rate of 95% or higher.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Projected

School
92.9 92.9 93 95.1 95.2
Actual

District X X 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0 95.0

Projected

District
95.9 95.6 95 95.6
Actual

66
 STUDENT OSS OR EXPULSIONS FOR VIOLENT AND CRIMINAL OFFENSES

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Maintain a student OSS and expulsion rate below 0.5% of the
total school population.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Maintain an annual student suspension and expulsion rate below 0.5% of the
total school population.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card and GCS Incident Management System (IMS)

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X Less than Less than Less than Less than Less than
Projected 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%

School 0.5% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7 0.9

Actual

District X X Less than Less than Less than Less than Less than
Projected 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%

District 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7

Actual

67
 PARENT SATISFACTION – LEARNING ENV.

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of parents who are satisfied with the learning
environment from 79.5% in 2012 to 91.0% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2012-13, increase by 2.3 percentage point(s) annually parents who
are satisfied with the learning environment.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #5

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 81.8 84.1 86.4 88.7 91.0

Projected

School 79.5 76.3 76.0 87 76

Actual

District X X 89.0 89.5 90.0 90.5 91.0

Projected

District 88.0 88.1

Actual
88.1* 76

68
 STUDENT SATISFACTION – LEARNING ENV.

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of students who are satisfied with the
learning environment from 65.5% in 2012 to 85.5% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2013-14, increase by 4.0 percentage point(s) annually students
who are satisfied with the learning environment.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #18

Planning
Baseline
School Name Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 69.5 73.5 77.5 81.5 85.5

Projected

School Actual 65.5 80.3 62.5 77 70.3

District
Projected (ES, X X 81.5 82.5 83.5 84.5 85.5
MS, and HS)

District
79.7 80.7 80
Actual (HS
only)

69
 TEACHER SATISFACTION – LEARNING ENV.

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of teachers who are satisfied with the
learning environment from 81.0% in 2012 to 94.5% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2013-14, increase by 2.7 percentage point(s) annually teachers
who are satisfied with the learning environment.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #27

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 83.7 86.4 89.1 91.8 94.5

Projected

School Actual 81.0 73.5 90.1 86 95.5

District X X 92.5 93.0 93.5 94.0 94.5

Projected

District Actual 98.0 92.6 92

70
 PARENT SATISFACTION – SAFETY

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of parents who indicate that their child feels
safe at school from 69.2% in 2012 to 95.5% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2013-14, increase by 5.3 percentage point(s) annually parents who
indicate that their child feels safe at school.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #18

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 74.5 79.8 85.1 90.4 95.5

Projected

School Actual 69.2 67.2 76.9 71 72.0

District X X 93.9 94.3 94.7 95.1 95.5

Projected

District Actual 93.5 92.8

*Info is from 2014-15.*

71
 STUDENT SATISFACTION – SAFETY

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of students who feel safe at school during
the school day from 78.3% in 2012 to 93.0% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2013-14, increase by 3.0 percentage point(s) annually students
who feel safe at school during the school day.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #30

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 81.3 84.3 87.3 90.3 93.0

Projected

School Actual 78.3 80.5 73.2 71 80.2

District X X 91.0 91.5 92.0 92.5 93.0

Projected

District Actual 90.0 89.6

72
 TEACHER SATISFACTION – SAFETY

▢ Student Achievement ▢ Teacher/Administrator Quality ▢ School Climate ▢ Other Priority

FIVE YEAR PERFORMANCE GOAL: Increase the percent of teachers who feel safe at school during
the school day from 96.8% in 2012 to 98.5% by 2018.

ANNUAL OBJECTIVE: Beginning in 2013-14, increase by 0.4 percentage point(s) annually teachers
who feel safe at school during the school day.

DATA SOURCE(S): SDE School Report Card Survey results – Question #39 (used Question 4 from
current survey)

Planning
Baseline
Year 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
2011-12
2012-13

School X X 97.2 97.6 98.0 98.3 98.5

Projected

School Actual 96.8 85.7 92.6 84 98

District X X 98.5 98.5 98.5 98.5 98.5

Projected

District Actual 98.9 98.9

Timeline Person Responsible

STRATEGY Estimated Funding Indicators of
Cost Sources Implementation
Activity

Increase Student, Parent, and

Faculty Awareness of School List of programs and
Safety Measures Ongoing Administrative Team None None notifications
Increase Student, Parent, and
Faculty Awareness of Steps
Taken to Create a School
Environment that Enhances List of programs and
Learning Ongoing Administrative Team None None notifications

73
74
 Professional Development Plan
Professional Development Overview 2016-17

Hillcrest High School Monthly PD Calendar

Event Day Time Location
st
Faculty Meeting 1 Wednesday of the 4:00 pm Media Center
Month
Faculty Council 2nd Wednesday of 4:00 pm Media Center
Meetings the Month
Department 3rd Wednesday of the 4:00 pm Department Chairs’
Meetings Month Classroom
Professional 4th Wednesday of the 4:00 pm Media Center
Development Month
Freshman 4th Wednesday of the 11:30 am Room 253
Academy Month
Adept – Formal As Needed Basis 4:00 pm Media Center
Evaluation
Aspire – Induction 2nd Tuesday of the 4:00 pm Media Center
Teachers Month

Professional Development – Aspire for Induction Teachers

Date Topic Additional Info

8/22/16 PAS-T Performance Standard 1 & 2 Bring PAS-T
Notebook
9/12/16 PAS-T Performance Standard 2 & 3 Bring PAS-T
Notebook
10/03/16 PAS-T Performance Standard 4 & 5 Bring PAS-T
Notebook
11/14/16 PAS-T Performance Standard 6 & 7 Bring PAS-T
Notebook
12/05/16 PAS-T Performance Standard 8 Bring PAS-T
Notebook
01/02/17 Planning for Exams and End of the Bring Lesson Plans
Semester
02/06/17 Classroom Management & Engagement Bring Lesson Plans
03/13/17 Planning for Engagement & Rigor Bring Lesson Plans
04/17/17 Coaching Cycle Bring Lesson Plans
Pre-Conference/Observation/Post
Conference with Instructional Coach
05/08/17 How to prepare for your formal evaluation Bring PAS-T
next year Notebook
75
 HHS Professional Development Plan 2016-17

Date Title of PD Type of PD

08/03 Google Suite, Google Apps for Education TWT
08/12 Google Sites – Teacher Website TWT
08/13 Incident Management System - IMS TWT
08/26 Effective Classroom Management & Communication CSI
09/14 Effective Strategies for supporting ESL Learners CSI
09/15 Effective Strategies for supporting ESL Learners CSI
09/28 Teaching with Demos 101 TWT
10/05 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT
10/17 How to drill down with Early Warning Response System TWT
10/26 Student Centered Learning – SAMR Session 1 TWT
11/09 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT
11/28 Teaching with Rubicon TWT
12/15 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT
01/04 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT
01/28 HHS Collaboration with Feeder Schools CSI
02/01 Peer Observations of DLC Teachers TWT
02/22 How to prepare successfully prepare students for written response CSI
03/01 Peer Observations of DLC Teachers TWT
03/08 How to integrate Quizlet into my classroom TWT
03/08 How to integrate EdPuzzle into my classroom TWT
03/28 How to integrate Padlet into my classroom TWT
04/03 How to integrate Quizlet into my classroom TWT
04/26 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT
05/10 Student Centered Learning/Google Apps for Edu TWT

TWT = Teaching with Technology

CSI = Creating Successful Instruction
PLC = Professional Learning Community

76
 Data Sources

Hillcrest High School State Report Card 2015-16

https://ed.sc.gov/data/report-cards/2014/district.cfm?ID=2301

Hillcrest High School EASA Waiver 2015-16

https://ed.sc.gov/data/esea/2014/school.cfm?SID=2301012

77