<p>It is a wonderful school with strong administration. You will love it. The athletic facilities are really nice and the MAPL league has great interscholastic competitions. Academics are strong and it feeds to Naval Academy with good success.</p>
<p>Hill is a wonderful school. I would not base my decision on the comments you read on this board.</p>
<p>well thanks a lot for the info and advise! It sure makes me feel better.</p>
<p>Lots of extended family members went to the Hill. Nothing but really good feelings about the school. Family sent siblings who easily could have gone to "better" schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>The problems that I have repeatedly heard about at Hill concern drugs & quality of students. I do not like to write about these issues because, when I hear these reports they can be two to three years old & the problem(s) may have been corrected. I have heard these comments from multiple unrelated sources including one teacher at the school. I have also heard of heavy substance abuse at two other schools. One school adamently denied any such problem existed, then expelled & suspended 10 students a few weeks later. The other school replaced the headmaster in an effort to curb the blatant & substantial drug usage. ... many parents rely on my advice when selecting schools so I have to ask address both the good & the bad. P.S. I am a fan of several MAPL schools, especially Mercersburg Academy, but also Blair & Lawrenceville.</p>
<p>The problem with drug/alcohol stories is that they can happen at ANY of these schools- and I do mean ANY. The fact that Hill or some other school may have uncovered something and had to expel some students doesn't mean that the same situation is yet undetected at another school. Drug and alcohol experimentation is a fact of life, and how the administration handles the issues is the key. (are consequences imposed fairly and after thorough investigation? are the students allowed to apply for re-admission if they clean up?)</p>
<p>MOWC: Yes, but the problems are more prevalent & more frequent at some schools than at others.</p>
<p>You're knowledge is third hand and outdated.</p>
<p>MALPARENT: These are not rumors. Ask the administrators at any school that you are considering. Check prior posts on CC about Hill. My knowledge, however, is second hand as I am not present--just as you are not--as a student, teacher or administrator at any of these schools.</p>
<p>Let me just say thanks to the editing staff that made the prudent decision to revise some of the comments expressed by Icy and Mapl.
Icy you state "I have repeatedly heard two negatives about this school which I am uncomfortable repeating".
Yet in the next post you proceed to name the negatives directly. I guess it wasn't too uncomfortable.</p>
<p>For the sake of balance let me say that I believe these problems are surface at most schools, as has been mentioned previously, however it's damaging to use innuendo and conjecture to label a particular school. Hill is an excellent school, in fact the perfect school for some students, and not so perfect for others. Just to be fair and balanced.</p>
<p>Let me express thanks to the editing staff for removing the entire post of adiosamigo which served no legitimate or proper purpose on this thread or in this forum. CC is not simply a cheerleading service. Sometimes parents have to inquire about distasteful matters in the interest of protecting their children. Hill's issues are well known & have been well known to many, but not to all, especially the OP who inquired for info. It is not only right & fair to ask somewhat sensitive questions of boarding schools, it is a parental responsibility. To those posters who know better & try to cover it up, you are not helping your beloved school. Some issues just have to be addressed & dealt with--especially when it involves the safety of our children when away from home. adiosamigo: Yes, I clarified my concerns for several posters who asked after another poster insinuated that I had some sort of hidden agenda when all I was doing was responding to the OP in a subtle & discreet fashion.</p>
<p>my apologies for falling into what now appears to be a senseless debate. I will use better judgement in the future and not fall into that trap. For the record my response was removed and rightfully so. Icy's was extensively edited twice, Mapl's once and rightfully so. My apologies once again to the editing staff.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who has been at Hill for three years now, and I am very enthusiastic about the school. We are experienced "boarding school parents" having had children at Taft, Groton, and Aiglon (Switzerland.)
Hill communicates with parents better than the other schools with which we have experience.
My daughters has fabulous teachers (three are PhDs) and loves her classes. We like some of the traditional aspects of Hill, the dress code and chapel, and find it to have a supportive atmosphere. Our daughter has blossomed there.</p>
<p>seeker06, nice post. Glad to have a Hill parent let us know what they think about Hill. Thanks for posting.</p>