Hello from the Hilltop Board! We held our April Board Meeting on Wednesday evening and were able to accomplish all kinds of important things over a delicious dinner made by Asher. On the financial side of things, we officially accepted the school’s proposed budget for 2024-2025, and approved a new Investment Policy and Investment Subcommittee....Read More

We loved seeing the turnout of staff, engaged parents, neighbors, and interested community members at our Pie Day Open Board Meeting. The pies were delicious and the opportunity to get to know each other further was so much fun!  The content and direct purpose of the meeting involved two parts:  Sharing information about board service...Read More

Happy New Year! We are all back, though you won’t have seen me in person this week. I’m quarantined with COVID (my first time having it!), but am very much working on school projects. The staff had a great In-Service day meeting on Monday, including a lively discussion about “choice” in the Montessori classroom. We...Read More

As teachers returned to school to welcome new community members and reflect on and prepare for the year ahead, the Hilltop Board of Trustees did the same. Trustee Shelley Lockyear generously hosted the board and their families at her inn (The Nutmeg Inn, in Wilmington) on Saturday, August 26. The Board is thrilled to welcome...Read More

Dear HIlltop Families, After years of carefully expanding staffing and services, and broadening our support of equity and economic diversity through Indexed Tuition, we find ourselves needing to focus on financial sustainability – and specifically, to plan for some belt tightening around all of our programs for next year. The vast government grants and tax...Read More

Dear Hilltop Community; As we get a hint of summer and look towards the impending transitions at the end of a school year, the Board of Trustees is doing the same. Last month the board hosted an open board meeting with Cheese Boards Galore! Interested community members learned more about the work of the Hilltop...Read More

Here we are in our second month of 2023, with a successful season of Mountain Days under our belts, and students and teachers digging into mid-year academics. This is also the time of year when the HMS Board begins its search for new trustees to join our work in the 2023-2024 academic year, either as a new trustee or...Read More

Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of “The Spiritual Preparation of the Teacher” as critical to supporting children into developing into their true selves. She said that a teacher must notice and accept their faults and “must be willing to accept guidance if we wish to become effective teachers”. She speaks against being defensive about shortcomings,...Read More

The September Board meeting was heavy with finance! The Board reviewed the 2021-22 Year End Close Out, which will be finalized by our outside financial auditor. We ended the year almost exactly as anticipated, with a deficit that was made up for by our PPP loan forgiveness and a planned Endowment draw. Over the years,...Read More

Embarking on the Strategic Planning Process! Do you have insights to share about the future of HMS? What are we doing well as a school community, and what could we improve in the coming years?  We would love to hear your opinions! The Board of Trustees is embarking on a new Strategic Planning process. The 2017-2021 Strategic...Read More