The Hill School of Wilmington

About the Program

WHAT ARE LEARNING DIFFERENCES?

A learning difference is a neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store and respond to information and affects approximately 6-8% of school age children and continues into adulthood. The term is used to describe the seeming unexplained difficulty a person of at least average intelligence has in acquiring basic academic skills. These skills are essential for success at school and work, and for coping with life in general.

Learning differences can affect a person's ability and achievement in the areas of:

• Listening
• Speaking
• Language and symbols
• Reading
• Writing
• Mathematics

THE HALF-DAY MODEL

The Half-Day School Model is the basis for the program offered at The Hill Center in Durham, North Carolina and is the model for The Hill School of Wilmington. Students receive direct instruction in reading, written language, and math at HSW and attend their base school, public or private, for the other half of the day.

Through duplication of all aspects of The Hill Center's half day program, including its philosophy, curriculum, and operating standards, systemic change occurs in students' skill sets. This model requires teachers to complete certification in Hill Methodology in order to replicate desired achievement results and is appropriate for students with LD and/or ADHD.

The evidence-based Hill Methodology curriculum consists of reading, written language, and math instruction. The language arts program, which is based on the work of Dr. Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham, consists of a multisensory structured approach to reading and written language. The reading class uses systematic phonics instruction for word attack and emphasizes word recognition through phonological awareness exercises, decoding, vocabulary development, fluency drills, oral and silent reading, as well as reading comprehension. Written language instruction includes spelling, paragraph dictation, copying, handwriting, grammar and mechanics, creative writing, and composition. Math classes provide multisensory instruction with emphasis on automatic recall of math facts, developing number concepts, following mathematical procedures, speed and accuracy in computation, and increased problem solving skills. The Hill Methodology was developed by the Hill Center in Durham which is approved by the IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council).

HISTORY OF THE HILL SCHOOL OF WILMINGTON

In June of 2008, a community meeting was held at The University of North Carolina at Wilmington by a group of educators, professionals, and parents who were interested in starting a school for children with learning differences. At the meeting, a presentation was made by The Hill Center, a highly successful program in Durham, North Carolina with a 30-year history of documented success for students with learning differences. After that meeting, a Board of Directors was formed and they began working to create The Hill School of Wilmington. Very successful fund raising efforts allowed the Board to purchase the replication from The Hill Center within a matter of months and a site was subsequently secured through the generosity of St. James (Episcopal) Parish in downtown Wilmington. The school received its 501(c)3 status in April 2009.

Dawn Hodges
Director
Hill School of Wilmington

In February of 2010, the Board of Directors hired a Director for the Hill School of Wilmington. Dawn Hodges, a Wilmington native, completed her undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University. She began work on her master’s degree at UNC and NCSU with completion of her coursework at UNCW. After teaching for almost nine years in New Hanover County and Wake County, she joined a team of parents and educators who founded a school for academically gifted and motivated students, Wilmington Academy of Arts & Sciences. Dawn has over eighteen years of classroom and administrative experience in both elementary and middle school. She was recently employed by the Watson School of Education at UNCW, as the Project Coordinator for the Hill Center-Brunswick County Partnership. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at UNCW.

BOARD MEMBERS

• Beth H. Chadwick, Past President
• Porter E. Young, President
• Amy Brown North, Vice-President
• G. Stephen Diab, Secretary
• James B. Sloan, Jr., Treasurer
• Dr. Denise J. Hanson
• Dr. Karen Kirk
• Julie H. Lancaster
• Dr. Thomas E. Mates
• Amy Brown North
• Carla R. Whitwell

ADVISORY MEMBERS

• Lynne W. Loeser
• Dr. Karen S. Wetherill