I had gone to school ever since Junior Kindergarten all the way up to second grade It was good but second grade was when the tables turned .One of the teachers were rude, and targeting me. on ski Friday kids would come up to my parents and say why is miss whitehead so mean to Josef? I admit I had a hard time focusing so she called a parent conference and my dad asked what have you done to stop this and she replied with nothing so my dad said so you have tried nothing and your all out of ideas so when she heard that she was very rude to my parents but other then that it is a fine school . read more

Hill School is a lovely, balanced, special gem school. I'd think for anyone within a 45-minute commute (and you'll see more below why I say it), that it's worth checking out. We've lived in Middleburg for 3.5 years, and in that time we've had various touchpoints with Hill School. As a recruiter for 18 years (Microsoft, Viacom, and now Nike & Converse), I'm honed in ability to evaluate people, scenarios, matches and suss out what's what. I know on a tour to listen, but to look elsewhere and absorb everything, student art on the walls, everything, to see as much as possible, and I have a highest bar. As a resident of Middleburg, and having Hill School in our backyard, absorbing everything I see and hear as a local resident too, it just gives me more information and awareness. Here's what I think of Hill School, and know about Hill School, from 3.5 years of absorbing info on the school: -Very extremely pretty setting in Middleburg Virginia, horse country, deer, rolling hills, beautiful campus, special space for art instruction, a very nice front facing playground. -I met a math teacher there once who wore a bow tie that he had special ordered apparently, the actual math equations of his students on it. Passion worn. -Their Latin teacher is lovely. And how cool (and purposeful) to study Latin (+ points on the verbal portion of the SAT most certainly)(myself, I took etymology in high school and what I learned in that class still helps me today)(very cool that Hill School offers Latin - great!). -we've been to 2 of their annual fundraising parties that include people in the community and these parties are amazing. Parents who enroll their children at Hill School will join a community of neat families. -The mayor of Middleburg went to Hill School. The owner of the local popular barre studio went to Hill School. I've met several successful happy balanced alumni from this school. -They have a mentorship program between older kids and younger kids. Hill School children have a demonstrable kindness and helpfulness, fostered by this program. -I met a family with 3 daughters at Hill School, originally from California, with capacity to live anywhere in the country. They set out on a cross country exploration of positive early and middle school education in our country, visiting various schools in various states, (who does that?!), and they moved to Middleburg for Hill School. On a walk the mom shared with me reflections on her 3 daughters, different personalities, and all finding their place at Hill School. -I have a friend who is 45 minutes away from Hill School and they drive in, and also make use of Hill School bus service from Stone Ridge on days they don't drive the full distance, and both of their children are blossoming at Hill School. My friend sees it as totally worth the drive, and further if you compare the tuition at other schools, some upwards of 35-45k, it seriously opens up the topic of balance. Balance isn't just a topic of commute but also of cost and also of the quality of the school. To arrive at such a high-quality school, balanced, lovely, at an affordable price compared with many, I can understand how the commute is worth it to my friend. Cutting to the conclusion, I personally believe that Hill School could be one of the best schools in America, a balanced joyful warm community, with capable devoted faculty in a very pretty setting. For any family not up for hefty tuition, I'd say honestly, what's a drive to lock in a gem school and good fit? Further, there's the bus option, possibility for carpool, and Middleburg is such a special town with a great coffee shop and great restaurants, if you can conduct your work remotely, maybe you even want to consider camping out in Middleburg during the day, working out of the coffee shop, so that your children can go to Hill School? And once you do that, you might fall in love and want to move. Could seriously happen. My suggestion would be to call to schedule a tour, and I believe that their Admissions Director Kelly Johnson is a gifted director who can discern fit, coupled with their school counselor Kasia Daum who has joy dancing in her eyes, those two professionals will know if the fit is there, and when your children thrive you'll know too. I personally think almost any child would be lucky to attend Hill School and that it could be an optimal environment for many children. Tuition rates at so many private schools have sky rocketed and created imbalance and stressors for families, making a commute feel, comparatively, easy breezy. What I would encourage is at least commute for the tour and see what happens with your heart. Lunch at Thaiverse would be a sound pairing. And be sure to request a visit to the building where art is made. 2 thumbs up for Hill School. read more