217 Illinois St
Lawrence, KS 66044

My.child has thrived at every school they have ever attended, every school except Lawrence Free State High School. Teachers are regulars checked out and inattentive to my child's needs. Be Better Free State!

We have had kids at Hillcrest since 2018 - through three Principals, a global pandemic, and a merger with another Title I elementary school when the district changed boundaries. Throughout all of this, my kids’ love of learning, curiosity about others and the world around them, and commitment to compassion have been nurtured with such safe room to grow. The teachers at this school stay - often for their entire careers - and are committed to delivering a rigorous, multicultural, technologically aware education to kids from all backgrounds.As one of only a few schools that draw English language learners from across the difference, Hillcrest has a challenge in supporting kids with so many varied learning needs, communication annd cultural styles, and abilities. While state test performance may lag other area schools due to these differences… The teachers knock it out of the ballpark, meeting each kid with differentiated challenges. The recent transition to a new principal who is a former Hillcrest student and experienced (favorite, according to my kids) teacher is a huge new benefit.We sought transfers for each of our kids to this school before they entered kindergarten and we have not regretted it. There is no other place in Lawrence that I’d want them to be learning - Hillcrest is truly “where the world goes to school.”

This school has abysmal engagement and communication with parents and terrible student support particularly with matters pertaining to ADHD. Staff don’t seem to be able to adequately and equitably provide supervision to students. Our experience has been that the current Principle is unable to regulate herself and her responses to students. Our experience continues to be that the principle sets a hostile tone for students, lacking objectivity or insight in the social dynamics and relationships of teens. I will allow that this could be a reasonable environment for neurotypical children, as I don’t have current experience. However, with over 25+ years of parenting. experience and specialized training in child development myself, this has been the worst school my children have attended. It certainly does not seem to have improved in the space of years in which my children have attended this school.