Welcome to Hillsdale!
Everything you need to know about joining our school family.
Summer 2026: Welcome, we are glad you're here!
Beginning at a new school or your first school can be a very exciting and nervous time! Don't worry, we are here to help! This newsletter is full of information that will guide you on this journey!
Our school day is 9:10 am – 3:40 pm
Drop off begins at 8:30 am
Students need to be in class by 9:00 am
Transportation will be automatically set up when registration is complete.
When in doubt, you can always call the office for assistance!
484.266.2002
Please know we are in the second year of a three-year renovation. No grade of students will be displaced off-site during the renovation.
In Phase 2, the front of our school and the Middle Pod (grades 2 & 3) are being completely renovated to include all new offices, a new nurse's suite and 7 large classrooms as well as other spaces for support teachers.
Our office will be relocated this summer to Glen Acres Elementary School (1150 Delancey Place) from June 12th until August 17th. We can still be reached at the same phone number: 484-266-2002.
8/31 - First Day of School
9/4 - Early Dismissal (12:05) - No Lunch Served
9/7 - No School - Labor Day Weekend
9/8 - K-2nd Back to School Night 6:30 - 7:30pm
9/9 - 3rd-5thBack to School Night 6:30 - 7:30pm
9/11 - PTO Welcome Back Bash on the Playground
Important notice from the School Nurse:
PA State school health mandated immunization, physical and dental requirements for 26-27 school year:
- All students are required to be up to date with PA state mandated immunizations within the first 5 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school.
- All kindergarten students and any student registering for the first time to HDE must submit updated physical and dental examination report to the school nurse within the first 60 days of school in order to avoid being excluded from school. Reports can be dated on/after September 2025.
**Kindergarten through 5th grade students must receive:
- 4 dtap (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
- 4 IPV (polio) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
- 3 Hepatitis B
- 2 Varicella (chicken pox)
- 2 MMR (measles/mumps/rubella)
If you have questions about these requirements, please contact Mrs. Champi at echampi@wcasd.net
If you registered your child(ren) through WCASD portal and did not upload all or part of the above PA state school health mandates, please send the information to Mrs. Champi at the above email address as soon as possible.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this very important notice.
Mrs. Eileen Champi, BSN, RN, CSN
Certified School Nurse
Hillsdale Elementary School
West Chester Area School District
Phone: 484 266 2006
Fax: 484 266 2099
One of the first things you should know is how to set up your parent portal access. This program from PowerSchool gives you the ability to log in and view up-to-date information on grades, attendance, report cards, and health screenings done at school. This is where you will find out your child’s homeroom teacher assignments and bus information in the early weeks of August. You can sign up for emails and update your contact information throughout the school year using the Back-to-School/Update sites that are accessible through the portal. If you already have an account you can just add your new kindergarten child’s information to your existing account. All you need to do is click the Preferences link and then click on the Students tab and enter your Kindergartener’s access information there.
If you do not have an account you will need to create one. The access information for your child will be provided by our secretary.
Once your account is created or you add an additional child, it will take up to 24 hours for your Back to School/Update site account to be active.
When your child is absent from school, we must have a note from you to explain the absence within 3 days of your child's return. Otherwise the absence is marked as unlawful and you will receive a letter from the office. Our attendance secretary, Mrs. Susan Fithian, will be your contact for all things related to attendance. sfithian@wcasd.net or 484-266-2003.
Each student is allowed the following 3 types of absences.
- Parent Note - Each student is allotted 10 parent notes a year. These notes cover any absence that is not a family vacation or an illness where a child has been seen by a doctor.
- Family Vacation - Each student is allotted 5 family vacation days a year. Please use the form below to request those days off at least 5 days prior to the vacation.
- Doctor Note – If your child sees a doctor that causes them to be absent from school, simply send a note in to school with the date of the appointment and/or instructions for missing school.
Hillsdale uses an application called Pick Up Patrol to report absences, late arrivals, early dismissals and changes in pickup procedure for your children. Families receive an email invite from Pick Up Patrol to download the app to their phone. Once downloaded it is very easy to report changes in their child’s attendance. We cannot express enough how important it is for parents keep their child’s record updated. We use the application throughout the day and most importantly at dismissal time. At the end of the day, we use reports from the application for dismissal. The report allows us to track how each child is being dismissed that day, and gives us an alphabetical list of students being picked up, attending the aftercare program, as well as which bus each child is riding. It gives us a student tally for each bus so we know that everyone is safely on the bus prior to it departing school. Please use the app. It saves paper, phone calls, and time for you and the Hillsdale staff.
A few things to note in Pick Up Patrol:
- Pick Up means you are driving through the car line to get your child after 3:30
- Early Dismissal is for when you are signing your child out before 3:30pm for any reason
- Walker means you are walking to school or parking your car and walking up to retrieve your child.
A few things to note:
1) Volunteers must have clearances.
2) Younger siblings are not permitted at school while you volunteer.
3) Volunteers are held to the same confidentiality standards as any WCASD employee.
4) While you may see and interact with your child when you are volunteering, you are here to assist all children.
