HILLSIDE ARTS AND LETTERS ACADEMY

Hillside Arts and Letters Academy (HALA) is a small, specialized public high school located in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. Situated within the Jamaica Educational Campus, the school is known for its intimate learning environment, which prioritizes personalized instruction and a tight-knit community feel. As its name suggests, the curriculum places a heavy emphasis on the humanities, creative writing, and the arts, aiming to foster students' critical thinking and expressive abilities through a rigorous, college-preparatory lens.

The school is characterized by its commitment to student-centered pedagogy and a collaborative culture. By maintaining a smaller student body, Hillside Arts and Letters is able to provide a more focused support system, often utilizing advisory programs and project-based learning to help students navigate their academic and personal goals. Because it shares a campus with other specialized schools, students at HALA also benefit from a broader network of extracurricular opportunities, athletic programs, and shared resources, while still enjoying the identity and specialized focus of their specific academy.