The mission of the Hillside Public School’s English Department is to guide students to view themselves as writers and readers, making connections between their literary experiences and their own personal lives. Our students will learn to read critically, communicate clearly, value evidence and understand how reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing and language are intertwined. Our goal is to motivate students to become lifelong readers and learners.

The Hillside Township School District Language Arts curriculum aligns with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Through the use of direct instruction, modeling, practice, and application, the students will develop the skills necessary to be active listeners, thoughtful readers, critical thinkers, effective communicators, and collaborators. The language arts curriculum embraces the values of "Readers & Writers Workshop" and allows students to explore the many components that construct the richness of language and the many genres through which authors express ideas about the world.

We believe that all students deserve an education that encompasses the multi-talents and multi-intelligences of our student body. Our students deserve to be surrounded by a culture of high expectations and a rich array of options for the future. We believe that students should be exposed to high-quality, culturally relevant literature in order to become life-long readers.