our school

Hillside Elementary School is family. We serve approximately 640 preschool through fourth grade students in the Closter Borough of Bergen County, New Jersey. We provide a comprehensive education along with many extracurricular programs and services. 

Learn all about who we are, and meet the people who come together to make Hillside Elementary School an excellent place for your child to learn and grow.

Our Mission Statement

Hillside Elementary School's mission is to promote a love of school and lifelong learning for all children. We strive to create an environment where children develop self-discipline, the ability to work cooperatively, as well as decision-making and problem-solving skills. Our school promotes an appreciation of individual differences and respect for the environment. Our community at Hillside Elementary School is dedicated to developing the child by providing authentic hands-on learning experiences. In turn, we challenge and encourage our students to take risks by utilizing technology as a tool to enhance learning. We believe in adapting to different learning styles and in reinforcing democratic values to foster responsible citizens for an ever-changing world.

Our faculty is committed to continuous growth and development. Their active and ongoing participation in staff development opportunities through our Northern Valley Curriculum Center and our affiliation with LitLife and Math Solutions. Our participation in school-based professional learning circles demonstrates our faculty’s willingness to be the best they can be for the children at our school. 

At Hillside we strive to integrate technology with workplace readiness skills. This is evident through the implementation of our school’s multimedia literacies program. The use of our television broadcasting system and mobile computer labs are just two of our initiatives supporting this program. Hillside News Network (HNN) is a daily live newscast run by the students. The HNN studio is located in the school's media center and is equipped with a teleprompter, video cameras, microphones, computers for still graphics and video, DVD players, digital cameras, a sound mixer, professional studio lighting, and an AV mixer. 

We believe in developing and maintaining a meaningful partnership of parents, children, teachers, administrators, and community members. We encourage full and active participation in the learning process. Our faculty presents outstanding, interactive learning activities with parents/guardians in reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and science. 

As a school, we are fortunate to work cooperatively with a supportive Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). The dedicated membership of the PTO supports cultural arts as well as academic and after school activities for our students. School-home cooperation is a hallmark of our school community. 

At Hillside Elementary School, teachers, staff, and parents strive to work together to foster learning opportunities for children that are challenging and interesting in a safe, relaxed, and stimulating learning environment.

Our Code of Conduct

Students have the right to:

  • A free public education
  • Equal protection under school policies and regulations
  • A safe and orderly environment in which to learn

Students have the responsibility to:

  • Obey school policies and procedures and the school authorities that enforce them
  • Respect one another
  • Treat school property and the property of others with respect
  • Act in a way that does not interfere with the rights of others and is not harmful to the health and safety of others

Students are expected to:

  • Arrive on time prepared for the day’s work and assignments
  • Exhibit self-respect and show consideration toward school faculty, staff, volunteers, and peers
  • Use school property with care
  • Use appropriate language and behavior at all times
  • Wear clothing that is presentable and does not interfere with the educational process (flip-flops are not recommended)
  • Leave unnecessary electronic devices at home

Please review the Rubric for Interventions and Consequences.

Anti-Bullying

We will not tolerate bullying and expect every student and staff member to treat each other with civility and respect. We believe that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards.

What is Bullying?

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its students in a safe environment.

“Harassment, intimidation, or bullying” is defined as any gesture, any written, verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication*, whether it be a single incident or a series of incidents, that is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic, that takes place on school grounds, at any school sponsored function or on a school bus, or off school grounds, in accordance with law, that substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students, and that:

  • a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, will have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damaging the student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to his/her person or damage to his/her property; 
  • has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students; or
  • creates a hostile educational environment for the student by interfering with the student’s education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student.

*“Electronic communication” means a communication that is transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.

School Anti-Bullying Specialist
Dara Weiss
Hillside Elementary School
340 Homans Avenue
Closter, NJ 07624
(201) 768-3001, ext. 41124

District Anti-Bullying Coordinator
Keith M. McElroy
Tenakill Middle School
275 High Street
Closter, NJ 07624
(201) 768-1332, ext. 42211