Principal Silva's Welcome Message
The 2021-2022 school year was full of many accomplishments, none of which would have been possible without the support of our parents, amazing staff, friends, and supporters of Hillside Innovation Academy (HIA) and our district leadership. This past year, the Superintendent challenged all stakeholders to think about their Role, their Drive and their Why. HIA used these three indicators to guide and assess how we approached teaching and learning, community partnerships, and the social emotional well-being of scholars, staff, and our families. Intentional in our practices, the results of our work yielded a highly collaborative team of teachers, an effective school culture and climate, and scholars with strong character and academic perseverance.
As we enter our second year, we will continue to address our role, drive and why under the theme of Cultivating Equity, Wellness and Excellence. Our role towards cultivating equity will be defined by our commitment to ensure that each scholar has the opportunity to participate in a rigorous and relevant curriculum. Equity will be cultivated by our engagement in continuous reflection, making certain that our teaching practices are inclusive and culturally responsive. We will embrace and celebrate the diversity that exists within the school and the world.
Recognizing that the wellbeing of our staff and scholars is essential to effective teaching and learning, we will hold ourselves accountable for creating an environment that is built on respect, is supportive and emphasizes the value of community and relationships. Wellness will be cultivated through programming that promotes collaboration, not only among scholars and staff, but to include our partners in education and the larger school community. We will be purposeful in providing opportunities for scholars to practice the core competencies of social and emotional wellness, fostering empowered, productive, responsible, and self-directed learners and citizens - all of which will allow them to achieve their highest potential.
We remain committed to cultivating a community of excellence by delivering instruction that is innovative, promotes student agency, sparks curious, creative, and exceptional thinkers. It is through this lens that we will produce intellectually disciplined scholars with the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to novel, meaningful tasks, while considering multiple perspectives. Our scholars will leave our doors prepared to compete academically in high school and for success in college and for 21st century careers.
This year, our evolving theme of Cultivating Equity, Wellness and Excellence with an emphasis on defining our role, supports our strategic approach to growing a school where relationships, and wellness matter, and a shared belief that students prevail when opportunities exist. I am excited about the work ahead.
Thank you for your continued support of our scholars and Hillside Innovation Academy.
Dr. Nicole Silva, Principal
