The Hills School and Atelier

The Hills School: After 35 years as Shepherd of the Hills Cooperative Preschool, the church and school community launched a new philosophy in 2012 inspired by esteemed schools in northern Italy. North American interest in Reggio Emilia schools exploded when they were named “the best in the world” by Newsweek magazine in 1991.

Our families come to us because our community nurtures our students’ creativity, curiosity and intrinsic motivation for learning – skills which, studies unfortunately repeatedly tell us, disappear in most children as they progress through traditional academia. Our students are ready for all styles of schools when they move on to Kindergarten. With the ownership they take early on in their own intellect, they’re also becoming beautifully prepared for the wider world.

We think that now more than ever Arizona children deserve these thoughtful spaces for creative cognition. Our private school education is based on the latest brain research with child development knowledge always driving our decisions.