Pine Bloom Dr
Roswell, GA 30076

I recently graduated from HBMS, and I have mixed feelings about this school. While the kids are mostly knuckle heads who aren't very smart and get into trouble very often, I liked how small the school felt and how it seemed like you knew most of, if not every single student in your grade. While the two assistant principals are both terrible, the rest of the administration is pretty solid and for the most part they care about the well-being of the student body. The fine arts division of the school is amazing, and my experience as a member of the band program has helped me to already have a spot as a primary member of the CHS band program, even as a rising freshman. However, this past year yeilded tax cuts for the school. These cuts led to numerous teachers being laid off, including both the French and German teachers. Now to talk about the schedule. This site says that HBMS follows a normal schedule, which it does not. It follows a block schedule, in which there are A days, B days, and C days. A and B days are where there are 5 periods throughout the school day, each of them being 80 minutes long (one of which is a 'reset' block. The reset block includes lunch, recess, and an independent reading time where not a single teacher has every forced me to read during). But then there are C days. C days were new for the 25-26 school year. C days contain 9 periods, where students go through their A day schedule before reset block and their B day schedule after, in condensed periods. There are always 2 A and B days per week, and 1 C day per week. I think the teachers try their best to adjust with the abnormal schedule, despite some being better than others. To conclude, HBMS is a (mostly) fine school with an odd schedule that has a few issues.

The teachers and staff at Centennial High School care about the students and the education. Special shout out to the phenomenal counseling department lead by Mrs. Peart they are the Gold Standard. My sons are both a part of a mentoring program that focuses on both high achieving and at risk students providing support across the board.

The teachers and staff are great! Academics are great, school environment and culture are great, and the children love this school. Our son has just finished 5th grade at Hillside after starting there in Kindergarten. He was not the easiest of students. He has mild autism, which they recognized and found appropriate ways to help us, without ever blaming or shaming us. When he was younger, he could get overwhelmed easily and had poor emotional regulation, which could seem scary at times, and yet they never overreacted. They always responded in compassionate ways that took into account the needs of our son balanced with the needs of the other children. As our son related, he knew he was "well-known, and not always for the right reasons." All the while, the teachers and administration communicated well with us as and developed strategies to help our son. They always shared what they thought best and listened to our feedback. We never had to ask them to do more, and in fact, suggested several times that they could reduce the level of extra support they were willingly offering.Early on, I was a bit taken aback at an event where the principal greeted our son by name, until I noticed he was greeting *all* the children by their names! Last week, all of his teachers celebrated his growth during his time there. I was teary-eyed all through the promotion ceremony. We knew before kindergarten that our son would be a handful, and were turned down for admission by several private schools that we thought might be better-suited for him. I am so glad that we ended up at Hillside - I cannot image that any school would have done better.This is an excellent school that cares deeply for the students who attend there. Highly recommend.