Hillsboro Delivers Holistic,
Individualized Instruction
No one is teaching to the middle at Hillsboro Elementary/Middle School, winner of the 2014 middle school
SCORE Prize.
Core academic courses are levelled – in each middle school grade, as many as five different levels of rigor
are offered in separate classes. A flexible, creative master schedule provides extra time for students needing
subject area help, while making available a diverse array of related arts courses ranging from yoga to theater
makeup. Placements are fluid, not permanent, and revised quarterly.
“We have a philosophy to meet every child where they are in every subject and every standard,” said Principal
Kari Miller. “We manipulate our schedule around the needs of kids.”
Highly differentiated instruction, as well as arts integration, has delivered outstanding academic progress for
the school in Leiper’s Fork. Hillsboro students score well above statewide averages on TCAP assessments,
and the school posts strong three-year marks on TVAAS growth, particularly in math.
In addition, Hillsboro has done significant work to narrow achievement gaps. The gap between economically
disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers has narrowed across all subjects. Hillsboro is a Title I
school, and serves a growing population of economically disadvantaged students. Hillsboro, part of Williamson County Schools, serves about 300 students in grades 6-8, in addition to kids in grades K-5.
The introduction of levelled academic courses several years ago played a major role in Hillsboro’s strong academic performance. There are different numbers of levels in different grades, depending on student number
and need, but five levels is typical. The different levels are referred to by the names of Ivy League colleges,
like Oxford, Yale and Brown. Class sizes are smaller at lower levels.
Academic data guides the formation of the levels, delivering the right amount of rigor for each student.
Scheduling also accommodates students needing placements in different levels for different subjects. With
this broad levelling in place, differentiation within classrooms becomes a matter of fine-tuning.
Students receive their schedules and locker assignments at an ice cream social the day before each new
school year begins. Level placements are reconsidered about a month into the school year, after first assessments, and parents are invited to school at that time to review data points and understand placement rationale. Chris MacDonald, an English Language Arts teacher who helps create the schedules, said most parents
are happy with the process. The few complaints usually stem from social concerns.
“It’s never about intelligence. It’s about missing skills,” said Mr. MacDonald. “Once they see we really have
their kids’ best interests in mind, they are happy. We have a high rate of success.”
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