Welcome to Hillcrest

The Hillcrest motto, "Responsible, Respectful, Ready for the Future," permeates nearly every aspect of our campus. It is the goal of our faculty, staff, and community to ensure our students not only receive a stellar education, but that they also become high quality contributors to society.

We have had sixteen of our teachers recognized as a Deer Valley Unified School District Teacher of the Year. One of our teachers was named the AMLA’s, Arizona Middle Level Association Educator of the Year, and another was awarded the Air Force Association Arizona and Frank Luke Chapter -Aerospace Teacher of the Year.

Hillcrest received an ‘A’ Letter grade from the Arizona Department of Education, which means that our students have demonstrated scores and growth that are above average based on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards. It is our goal to continue this long-standing trend of growth and development and earn an ‘A’ label in the coming year.

Hillcrest Middle School offers a wide array of educational opportunities and courses of study for our roughly 1,000 students in grades 7& 8. Our teachers work together in core teams, comprised of a math, science, social studies, and English Language Arts (ELA) teacher; they share approximately 160 students. The core group of teachers work together on a regular basis in order to support the growth and development of their students. The students benefit by being able to transition from the elementary environment into the high school setting with the appropriate scaffolding and support; in addition, this builds their self-awareness and independence.

Each classroom at Hillcrest is equipped with a Smart Board, an interactive white board that students and teachers alike use on a daily basis to facilitate increased engagement and 21st century skills. The curriculum in each content area and grade level is structured to challenge students to go beyond basic recollection and description, instead requiring them to develop high-level critical thinking and evaluative skills, as well as the ability to synthesize information to create new conceptualizations and ideas. We believe that critical thinking and problem solving abilities are two necessary skills to prepare students for a successful future, and we strive each day to further develop them in every student on our campus. The wide variety of exploratory course offerings help our staff to support the development of well-rounded students who are prepared for great success in high school and beyond. These courses provide a meaningful supplement to core instructional content, allowing students to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge in many exciting areas.

Teachers and students at Hillcrest utilize a wide variety of technological tools in their daily lessons, from interactive Smartboard presentations, to the 3-D printer in our STEM classes. The digital age requires students to be familiar with and capable of utilizing many forms of technology; therefore, it is the belief of our campus that it is best to provide our students with as many opportunities as possible to work with new and relevant technology and programs.