Hillside: Rumor Versus Reality
Gun violence. Drug addiction. High dropout rates. These are the risk factors that Durham and surrounding communities often associate with Hillside High School.
These are common perceptions, but are they reality?
The Durham community has a variety of impressions of the school. Roxie Sutton, newly hired Senior Counselor, attended Hillside and returned after working with the NC Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. She primarily worked with disabled students in Wake County.
She recognizes the notions that incoming freshman have before attending her high school alma mater.
“I was excited to come back to Hillside,” she said. “I didn’t really think about the media. Even when I was here as a student, there were things that went on, and even then I remember the news being across the street at the gas station.”
Sutton said Hillside was always on the news more than other schools that had the same problems. She said it’s always been that way.
“But, there’s a lot of great things going on at Hillside that I think should have some light shed on them,” said Sutton.
Hillside’s history of creating predominantly African-American leaders in the community is often overlooked. Many trailblazers like Ernie Barnes, painter of A Life Restored, which is famous for being seen on an old sitcom, Good Times have come from Hillside.
Around the community, the school has often been referred to as Durham’s heartbeat because of its central location.
Freshmen like Areli Cardoza chose Hillside to challenge herself academically. She enrolled in the Middle Years Programme within the International Baccalaureate Programme.
“The work and projects within the classes are sometimes challenging,” said Cardoza. “Socially, Hillside is good, because there’s a lot of different people you can communicate with.”
Younger students say they are frequently influenced by middle school peers in their communities to despise Hillside. Adults who are hired at Hillside, on the other hand, form their own opinions.
New Hillside English teacher Adam Sharpnack used to work with severely autistic children at the Durham School of the Arts. He said that he has not experienced the negative side of the school that the rumors suggest.
“So far it’s been great, and I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “The students have a lot of energy, which is awesome.”
Sharpnack said that he’s heard some things, but nothing bad has happened in his class.
“I did see from another student a fight that took place recently, which is likely in all schools, but I’ve never experienced anything firsthand since I’ve started working here,” he added.
Likewise, Collin Clover, a Special Education Teacher’s Assistant at Hillside has heard a lot of negative rumors about the school, but he doesn’t think they are true either.
A lot of people see Hillside as a dangerous school, but the faculty, staff, and students can tell you firsthand that the rumors aren’t true.
“A lot of people say that Hillside is a hood school, and the students don’t care about anything, but I see different,” said Glover. “There might be a couple of students that portray what the media says, but the majority is mixed with good kids that want to learn.”
