1029 Laurelwood Dr #12
Durham, NC 27705

Here are my thoughts as an alumni of this school. My first year was all online and no one really participated so there isn’t much I can say, but 7th grade was when I went back in person. It was pretty average, with just a lot of drama and a few not great teachers (one I believe got fired m) but eighth grade really did a number on me. I will say though, that not too much homework is given but that does depend on your teachers. The school needs to do some serious work with the way they handle sexual harassment/bullying because as an afab person I am EXTREMELY catcalled and harassed anytime I walk into an unsupervised classroom, or even just through the hallways. There was a person who had been sexually harassing, bullying and even tried to sexually assault my friends and I multiple times for over a school year but the school pretended to care, but did nothing. The only teacher who actually took action was the band teacher who is one of the most amazing teacher I have ever had. The pe coach screamed at me until I started crying because I left the classroom one time bc I had to use the bathroom like a normal human being, and then yelled at my family bc of this. There were 2 shootings on campus in the span of a week and teachers told us not to talk about it because they said they thought it could be a rumor, as we were watching helicopter footage of the building we were in. Two high schoolers lost their lives that day, and our school did almost nothing to acknowledge them. The bodies of these students were found 39 minutes b4 school started meaning they could just cancel, but made us take tests and act like nothing happened. I get that their intentions were to not scare us, but they only instilled more fear. I will say that we have amazing guidance counselors and a phenomenal band program but we really need more resources for student mental health. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the school handled testing and learning accommodations on my 504 plan because I have adhd, which have definitely helped me a lot and most teachers have respected these. I have experienced some mild transphobia and homophobia from students but this is surprisingly not as common at the school. I really do think we need and lgbtqia+ club or a gsa though. There are lots of fights but that is to be expected in a middle school, and now and then we would have “gas leaks” which were just the smell of the ancient heating systems turning on.

Hillandale is a richly diverse community school with a long tradition of excellence. The school and broader parent communities feel like a family. Teachers are dedicated, creative, and care deeply for our children. The school represents the community and is rooted in equity and respect.

The students run this school, the administrative does not have the knowledge to de-escalate situations. This school does have some great teachers. If the school had better administrative staff this would be a awesome school