What do you think about when you think of elementary school? Laughter and smiles, learning the world around you, the sense of safety and belonging? Here at Hiland Park we teach the whole child and prepare them to be leaders and confident learners. The mission of Hiland Park Elementary is to develop the whole child by empowering them to be leaders and creating an atmosphere of excellence and happin
ess. How do we achieve such a high goal? The Leader in Me and the Ron Clark House System. In fact, we are one of 489 prestigious "Lighthouse Status" schools through Leader in Me. That means that we implement the Leader in Me program and have done so in a way that we are recognized internationally. We work to move our students from dependence, independence, then interdependence. Our students begin in PreK to learn and to live the 7 Habits:
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
We also use the Ron Clark House System to inspire our students to be leaders and celebrate what makes each of us special. Our school is divided into four leadership houses to create unique communities. Houses include:
Altruismo (Black House) Givers,
Amistad (Red House) Friendship,
Isibindi (Green House) Courage, and
Rêveur (Blue House) Dreamers
The houses create a sense of belonging and community within our school. We recognize teamwork and celebrate each other as a school, not just grade level. We are 4 houses, 1 family! At Hiland Park Elementary, we believe that all students should learn in a welcoming and rigorous environment along with their peers. Hiland Park Elementary is a full-inclusion school. Hiland Park is a staple of the community and part of so many Bay County families. In 1937, Mr. D. Foreman donated a 5 acre tract of land to the Bay County School Board for the purpose of building a school on the site. The school was constructed, in 1937, by local labor with the school board furnishing the materials. After completion, the school consisted of 4 classrooms and a total enrollment of 121 students. Each year thereafter, our school grew and enrollment peaked at over 800 students. In 2018, Hurricane Michael changed our school community, like most of our area. We saw a dramatic decrease in enrollment to 450 students and we now see our community thriving and we have a little over 600 students. We welcome you at Hiland Park- where leadership and community inspire tomorrow’s leaders.
