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About Hillside

Kelley Harrison

Principal Kelley Harrison

Hello, Hillside families! Our school is in the Historic Valley Junction neighborhood, and we focus on Respect, Responsibility, Safety, and Caring.

We team up with families and the community to give students great learning chances for the future. We want to prepare them for jobs and life after Hillside. Our goal is to make learning exciting and help students really understand what they are learning each day. We believe in strong teaching methods, a positive community, culturally-responsive teaching, and working together with families.

The Hillside team works with families to support every child. We want to help all students succeed and break down any challenges they may face. Join us at Hillside and be part of your child's education.

Let's have an awesome year together celebrating your child's learning journey!

Go Tigers!

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS)

PBIS, or Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, is a way to help everyone in our school behave well and succeed. It's like a plan with tools and strategies. Here's how it works at Hillside:

  1. We have rules for how to behave in the whole school.
  2. We teach everyone these rules.
  3. We notice and reward good behavior.
  4. There are consequences for not following the rules.
  5. We use information to make good decisions.

At Hillside Elementary, our main rules are to be RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, SAFE, and CARING. Let's all follow these and make our school a great place to learn!

Hillside Contact Information

ADDRESS: 713 8th Street, West Des Moines, IA 50265
PHONE: 515-633-6200 
FAX: 515-633-6299 

PRINCIPAL: Kelley Harrison
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: Jackson Anderson
COUNSELOR: Kristi Dierking
NURSES: Allison Line, Emily Boettcher
SECRETARIES: Lynn Knudson

School Times

HOURS: 9:05 a.m.-3:55 p.m.
COLLABORATION SCHEDULE: Wednesdays 9:05 a.m.-3:10 p.m.
PRESCHOOL: 9:05-11:50 a.m. and 1:10-3:55 p.m.

Hillside History

Let's learn about Hillside Elementary's history! It used to be the original home of Valley Junction High School, located on the corner of 8th and Hillside. The high school started in September 1917 with 300 students and six staff members. In 1923, they built Hillside Junior High in the cornfields east of the high school, and a new football stadium was added north of the high school 16 years later.

As the population grew in 1965, Valley High moved to its current location on 35th street. The old high school became Hillside Junior High and was used until it was eventually torn down. The stadium, though, was used until the fall of 2001.

In discussions about needed repairs for the stadium, Rex Mathes and Clegg Park Elementary Schools, it was found that the improvements were too expensive. So, instead of fixing the old buildings, the school district decided to invest in the area and build a new elementary school for students from Rex Mathes and Clegg Park.

In the fall of 2001, a design team was formed. Plans were made, bids were approved, and construction started in spring 2003. By August 2004, Hillside Elementary was ready with over 75 staff members and 650 students from Rex Mathes and Clegg Park Elementary coming together to learn in this new place.