1388 Catalpa Dr
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

I am an eighth grade student at this school. My experience here is horrible. My 7th grade year was alright, but the organization of the schedules and classes is not very good. Teachers throw information at students and don’t make them excited about their learning or thoroughly explain each topic for them to understand. The amount of homework is absurd. I am in all advanced classes and math two grade levels ahead. For our advanced classes we learn the exact same thing as kids in the regular classes with the exception of having more work, less explanation and more having to figure it out on our own. I am up past 12 am each night to catch up will all the homework. The kids in this school are racist, have behavioral issues, and every day there’s at least 4 people in in-school suspension as soon as I walk in through the door. The teachers will raise their voice at students for not understanding the material, making us afraid to ask for help. In addition, I’m not sure if it’s just the teachers I was assigned, but 6/8 of my teachers are in a bad mood all the time and let their personal struggles get in the way of their teaching and relationships with students. My language arts teacher has cursed at our class multiple times, taken student work and shown it to the whole class as an example of what not not do, and wastes work time by talking about issues she has with students. A lot of the time instructions are unclear and time is wasted because many people did not understand the assignment the way that the teachers excepted them to understand it. All of our students in one grade eat lunch at the same time with only two small cafeterias. The lunch lines are astronomical and the procedures are all over the place. The only thing I like is the clubs and activities. Some friends of mine recently suggested we get a volleyball teams for both genders, and the school approved this, so now we have those as well as a huge list of sports and clubs. Most of the kids in this school agree with the things I listed because we have conversations about these things frequently.

The teachers are always racially profiling POC kids. I personally have had experiences of getting yelled at for dropping things and being told i threw it, getting dressed coded for wearing a pink bandanna while my white friends don’t and getting asked inappropriate questions like of my hair is real. Some of the students and teachers helped my experiences and made me feel welcomed and my grades were fine but the racial experiences made it difficult to keep attending school.

Hillside Intermediate is a fantastic school. The staff and teachers are amazing. They have Roots and Shoots which no other school in NJ is a part of. There are many after school activities for the children to join. I love this school.

Yes, the school is located on the end of a dead end street so traffic and parking is always an issue. However, the school is one of best.