HILLSIDE ARTS & LETTERS ACADEMY

www.hillsidearts.org

406 Students

High School 9th - 12th

School Overview

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.

406

Total Students

28.1

Full-Time Teachers

14.5

Student/Teacher Ratio

77.3%

Free/Reduced Lunch

Student Demographics

Student Demographics Data Table

Student Demographics for HILLSIDE ARTS & LETTERS ACADEMY
Demographic	Student Count
White	7
Hispanic	152
Black	132
Asian	78
Two or More	13
American Indian	16
Pacific Islander	8

Hispanic
152 (37.4 %)
Black
132 (32.5 %)
Asian
78 (19.2 %)
American Indian
16 (3.9 %)
Two or More
13 (3.2 %)
Pacific Islander
8 (2.0 %)
White
7 (1.7 %)

School Location

School Details

Status:	Open
School Level:	High School
School Type:	Regular School
Charter Status:*	Public Non-Charter
Virtual Instruction:	No virtual instruction
Shared Time Status:	No
District:	NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #28
Phone:	(718)658-1249
Website:	http://www.hillsidearts.org
Grade Range:	9th - 12th
Total Students:	406
Full-Time Teachers (FTE):	28.1
Pupil/Teacher Ratio:	14.5
NSLP Participation:¹	N/A
Qualified Free Lunch:	310
Qualified Reduced Lunch:	4

* Charter Schools: A public charter school is a publicly funded school that operates independently under a legislative contract (or "charter") with a state, school district, or designated authorizing entity. Charters grant these schools greater operational flexibility over curriculum, staffing, and budgeting in exchange for strict accountability to achieve performance standards established in their charter agreement.

¹ National School Lunch Program (NSLP): The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to eligible children each school day based on household income thresholds or community eligibility options (CEO).

Title I Program Overview: Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) allocates federal financial assistance to local educational agencies and public schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

Grades Taught

Grade 9 100

Grade 10 95

Grade 11 100

Grade 12 111