Hilltop Cooperative

My son is at his first year of pre-​school at Hilltop and we couldn’t be happier with the place. The parent community is lovely and dedicated. The teachers are patient and attentive. They focus a lot on conflict resolution, sometimes getting the whole class to make suggestions to those who are stuck in some conflict or other (wanting to sit in the same spot, wanting the same toy, etc.) This lets the kids experience more than their own conflicts but to double and triple their experience by helping to work through other’s as well. One of the things that attracted us to the school was the mixed age classes, and that has turned out to be just as great as we thought it would be: The older kids take care of and mentor the younger ones. It’s really sweet and gives a ⁴⁄₅ year old the chance to be a senior before moving into a school where they are the freshman again. The community is diverse, which is also a terrific element of the school.

Our son started at Hilltop last fall (2012) and we’re very happy with our decision. The play based learning environment is so nurturing and the spacious outdoor areas are perfect for our very active kid. It’s big enough that the kids get to learn a lot of social skills but small enough that they get the appropriate amount of individual attention from the teachers. I love the wide variety of activities and crafts the kids are exposed to, our house is full of very imaginative creations. It’s a happy place!

We adore the school. We saw many schools before deciding that Hilltop was our first choice. We expressed our interest on many occasions and wrote a letter of intent. We feel very lucky to have been chosen, as it is a small intimate school. The teachers are very special. The school is diverse on many levels. The director is caring, very involved and approachable. Our daughter loves her school and has made many friends.

The director took my $ 40 application fee and on the same breath said that they won’t take my son because they have too many boys.
Yeah… Right. Before she took my money she didn’t know that.