The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Science. The lowest is 45% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillside El Sch
Hillside Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in New Cumberland, a small historic borough on the West Shore of the Susquehanna River just south of Harrisburg. The school enrolls roughly a few hundred students, with roughly half of them qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic and Black students and smaller populations of other groups represented.
Test results from the most recent full academic year show mixed performance. In mathematics, the school met proficiency at about the midpoint; in English language arts, proficiency was a bit below that. Science results from a prior year were notably stronger. Among the county's districts, Hillside's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint, a position that reflects real strength in science alongside room for growth in ELA and math. A parent may want to look into the school's approach to early literacy and numeracy to understand how the school is addressing the students who are not yet proficient and what supports exist for learners at each level.
The housing market in the New Cumberland zip code reflects a small-town and river-town setting. Home values are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, and rents are modest; both are affordable relative to household income. The area has seen recent upward movement in values and rents, though at a pace slower than the state average. Mortgage and rent affordability ratios suggest that families can buy or rent here more readily than in many Pennsylvania communities.
New Cumberland itself is in the middle of a deliberate downtown revitalization. The borough, covering just a few square miles, has tree-lined older streets and a real downtown centered on Bridge Street, where new businesses, renovated storefronts, and mixed-use projects are underway following a 2023 Community Identity and Downtown Master Plan. The borough is anchored by Borough Park, the New Cumberland Public Library in the historic Benjamin mansion, and an annual Apple Festival that draws crowds. A major federal employer, the Defense Logistics Agency's Distribution Susquehanna depot, sits on the borough's edge and is one of the region's largest employers. Most residents rely on personal vehicles, though local transit service connects to Harrisburg.
The school sits within West Shore School District, which has executed a significant facilities reconfiguration over recent years. The district shifted all elementary schools to kindergarten-through-fourth-grade configurations and opened two new intermediate schools for grades five and six in 2024. Hillside remains a K-5 school, so families at this building will experience the traditional elementary-to-middle transition rather than the intermediate-school path that some families in other parts of the district now follow. Parents should be aware that Allen Middle School, which likely feeds students from Hillside, will undergo comprehensive renovation beginning in the 2026-27 school year, with students temporarily relocated to other buildings for an extended period. The district has also raised property-tax millage in back-to-back years, an ongoing cost consideration for homeowners in the district.
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