Hillcrest Middle School
We just received confirmation that our child has been assigned to Hillcrest, which we are really happy. However, I heard that the # of students per grade in Hillcrest's middle school decreases by half compared to the elementary school. That said, what happens to the students entering 6th through 8th grade? Does Hillcrest guarantee spots in their middle school for their elementary students? Does the class-size decrease from sheer attrition because parents send their the kids to other middle schools? Does Hillcrest force some of their own elementary kids out of their own school due to capacity limitations? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Apr 30, 2017
Parent Replies
Congratulations! Assuming your child is in kindergarten, I wouldn't stress too much about this quite yet since it could well change before you get to that point. But yes, currently there is a lottery for sixth grade spots at Hillcrest (it is essentially treated as a separate school from an enrollment perspective) and fifth graders attending the school are not guaranteed seats. That said, many do leave for private in sixth anyway so there is attrition.
Because of the potential for a lottery, most everyone applies to other middle schools (e.g., St. Paul's, Montera, Head Royce, Bentley). When they go through that process, they often decide that even if they get into Hillcrest, their kid is invested in the schools they've been looking at. So ... they leave. That means that in general, people haven't been rejected from the middle school if they want to go to Hillcrest. My experience is dated by a few years so things might have changed and they could change in the future. Chances are it won't be a problem and frankly, you may be the family that decides they want the bigger middle school experience once you get to that point. Being in the same school for 8 years -- and a small one like Hillcrest -- can be too much of the same for some kids. A lot of them want to branch out and choose other options just to get a bigger pool of potential friends. For other kids, the small environment is comforting and just what they need.