Celebrating excellence at Hillsboro City Schools

The students and teachers in grades 6-12 in Hillsboro City Schools have been quietly making great academic strides. Both Hillsboro Middle School and Hillsboro High School earned Excellent ratings from the Ohio Department of Education for academic performance for the 2008-2009 school year. The state report card designates HMS Excellent for the first time and HHS Excellent for the second year in a row. HHS met all 12 indicators and earned a Performance Index Score of 100, while HMS not only met the expected growth for AYP but has exceeded it for the past three years.

There are several reasons for this success. The HHS and HMS faculty and administrators have stressed student achievement, utilized research based teaching techniques, and expanded existing programs. Both staffs are working hard to incorporate these techniques. For example, HMS has implemented a new schedule with increased class time in core subjects while allowing teachers to have collaborative planning time. Also, the high school has made schedule changes and increased course offerings in honors and advanced placement courses.

Until the 2008-2009 school year, HHS students could only take honors classes in English and Advanced Placement (AP) classes in English 12 and Calculus. In 2008-2009, the administration added honors classes in science, math, and social studies and an AP class in government. For the 2009-2010 school year, both buildings have increased their honors offerings. HHS added Advanced Placement Biology and American History.

HHS also took another innovative step by collaborating with Southern State Community College to allow HHS students to remain on campus while earning credit through SSCC. Several post secondary educational opportunity (PSEO) classes are available on the high school campus. Students can now earn both high school and college credits for these PSEO courses.

HMS students also have new and exciting opportunities. Eighth graders now have the opportunity to take not only Algebra I but also Spanish I for high school credit. Along with these middle school course selections, the core curriculum is also designed to meet the different needs of students through the creation of three pathways: Standard, Academic, and Accelerated.

The ACT College Readiness Program has been expanded. Many people have heard of the ACT test and believe it is a test only for college bound students. The ACT is actually the final test in the College Readiness System of tests. The complete system includes the EXPLORE, for students in grades 8-9, and the PLAN, for students in grade 10. The ACT is taken by students in grades 11 and 12. All tests measure student achievement in English, mathematics, reading, and science and provide career information. Students taking the series of tests and meeting or exceeding the academic benchmark scores have a good probability of being successful in courses commonly taken by first year college students. 

For the past two years, all HMS eighth graders have had the opportunity to take the EXPLORE test. The data from the career portion of this test is utilized in the HMS Community Mentoring Program where community volunteers in a variety of careers meet with students who show interest in that career. The students and mentors meet over lunch to discuss job skills and personal characteristics that lead to success in the mentor's profession.

At the high school, the PLAN academic data is used as a guide for curriculum revision, intervention, and instruction. This past year, fourteen sophomore students earned PLAN composite scores of 21.6. This was above the national average of 21.3 and just below the state average of 21.7.

Since 1990, Hillsboro High School has had 13 National Merit or National Commended Scholars, and our students have been accepted by such prestigious schools as MIT, Duke, Purdue, The Ohio State University, Florida State, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, and more than 135 different colleges and universities throughout the United States.

It's clear that many Hillsboro students are excelling. But the teachers and administrators want to help prepare all students for success beyond high school, whether the students are continuing in higher educator or going into the work force, Hillsboro students must be ready to meet the needs and demands of the 21st century job market. HMS and HHS have work to do. But with continued dedicated and determined support from all Hillsboro community stakeholders, our students will achieve even great academic success.