About Us
Welcome to Hill Top Academy!
Hill Top Academy is a K-12 school operated by the Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) and located in Mechanicsburg, PA. The classes at Hill Top represent several programs providing services to students in emotional support, Capital Area Mental Health Program (CAMhP), dual diagnosis support, autism support, and the diagnostic classroom. We maintain a safe and supportive learning environment designed to support each student’s unique individual needs.
Our students come to us from school districts throughout Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry and Northern York counties. Hill Top Academy opened in 2008 and was named by the students enrolled at that time. The Labrador Retriever was selected as the school’s mascot in honor of the many beloved Labradors that have worked at the school as facility dogs.
Vision
Hill Top Academy is a dynamic educational community committed to the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth of individual students.
Mission
We inspire our students to achieve their highest potential through an integrated therapeutic learning environment utilizing research based strategies and data driven interventions. We provide an individual plan in a structured environment where differences are nurtured and valued. In partnership with caregivers, school districts and the community, we develop trust, accountability and communication skills to prepare our students for their futures.
Facility Dogs
Hill Top Academy opened in 2008 and was named by the students enrolled at that time. The Labrador Retriever was selected as the school’s mascot in honor of the many beloved Labradors that have worked at the school as facility dogs.
We inspire our students to achieve their highest potential through an integrated therapeutic learning environment utilizing research-based strategies and data-driven interventions. We provide an individual plan in a structured environment where differences are nurtured and valued. In partnership with caregivers, school districts, and the community, we develop trust, accountability, and communication skills to prepare our students for their futures.
Benefits of Therapy Dogs
- They help to promote a positive school culture.
- Therapy dogs can be utilized in managing student behaviors.
- Therapy dogs create a learning environment that engages students, families, and stakeholders within the learning process.
- By creating a strong therapy dog program, we can help to #BeGreat, and share our research and success with our partnering school districts.
- We are #ChangingLives of our students each day by creating an enriching environment that promotes academic and behavioral success by exposure to the therapy dogs.
Esports Team
Hill Top Academy’s Esports Team offers our high school students the opportunity to develop critical life skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem solving through competitive video game playing.
As members of the North American Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), players are expected to maintain satisfactory citizenship and academic progress while engaging in social-emotional learning, career exploration, and, of course, playing many hours of video games.
The club offers weekly practices, scrimmages with other school teams, and tournament participation. Stay tuned for enrollment and tournament announcements!
For information on interest-based learning, STEAM career pathways, and Esports news, visit the NASEF website at nasef.org.
NASEF Parent and Guardian Resource Page: https://www.nasef.org/resources/parents/
Food Services
Numerous scientific studies have suggested a strong link between child nutrition and learning in school. This research emphasizes the importance of school meal programs in improving the educational performance of our students.
The CAIU food services participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the National School Breakfast Program (NSBP) and serves nutritious, healthy meals every school day. All meals served must meet nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the student wellness policy.
The PA Department of Human Services (DHS) has a new P-EBT Inquiry Portal, which can be found here.
The most recent health inspection can be found here.
Menus
The Capital Area Intermediate Unit's (CAIU) Hill Top Academy participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs and serves nutritious/healthy meals every school day. All meals served must meet nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Student Wellness Policy.
Breakfast: Breakfast in the Classroom is offered at Hill Top Academy when your child arrives to school and enters the classroom. No Ala carte items are offered during Breakfast in the Classroom. A full meal must be purchased. A full reimbursable breakfast consist of 3 components which must include a fruit or juice.
Lunch: Limited a la carte snack and beverage items are available during the lunch period.
Note: All a la carte items must now meet the "Smart Snacks in Schools" standards which went into effect July 1, 2014. (See "Smart Snacks" for more information.)
School Breakfast Program:
The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federal and state reimbursement program for each breakfast served that meets federal requirements.
Hill Top Academy participates in the School Breakfast Program and uses a food-based meal pattern as required by PDE. Based on the meal pattern, there are specific minimum requirements in three food components that may consist of four food items. The three food components are grains (with optional meat/meat alternate allowed); fruit/vegetable; and milk. Grains must be 100% "whole grain-rich", sodium is reduced, fruit serving is 1 cup per day and students are required to take 1/2 cup fruit under "Offer vs. Serve".
National School Lunch Program:
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal and state reimbursement program for each meal served that meets federal requirements.
The CAIU Hill Top Academy participates in the National School Lunch Program and uses a food-based meal pattern as required.. The food-based menu planning approach focuses on food components. There are five required food components at lunch which are grains, fruits, vegetables, meat/meat alternates and fluid milk. Since Hill Top Academy encompasses K-12 students all in one facility, PDE approved the CAIU to use one meal pattern for all grades. We still must meet all the requirements of that meal pattern.
Offer vs. Serve is a serving method designed to reduce food waste and food cost. It is an option used at Hill Top Academy. All students must take a minimum of one half cup of either fruit or vegetable component. Students are also allowed to decline two of the five required food components at lunch. Students are encouraged to eat all five components. Grains must be 100% "whole grain-rich" and sodium is reduced.
SchoolCafe
The Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) is proud to offer SchoolCafe, a safe and secure way for parents/guardians to make online payments to their child's cafeteria account.
SchoolCafe allows you to:
- View your child's cafeteria account balance
- Review daily spending and purchases
- Access from computer 24/7
- Receive low balance email reminders
- Sign up for automatic payments
Enrolling is easy and free! Enroll today at www.schoolcafe.com.
SchoolCafe Support: Hours 6:00am to 6:00pm CST. Phone: 1-855-729-2328
Email: customercare@schoolcafe.net
Goals
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To provide quality meals that are balanced and nutritious.
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To provide an opportunity for all students to meet one third of their daily nutritional needs.
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To maintain high standards of sanitation and safety.
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To be an integral part of the CAIU Student Wellness Program by helping to educate students about proper nutrition.
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To give students an opportunity to learn to eat a variety of foods.
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To effectively communicate menu offerings to students, parents, and staff and help students to make informed choices.
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To use technology as needed to enhance the effectiveness of our program.
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To stay abreast of new regulations and standards as they pertain to the food services program.
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To regularly attend school nutrition conferences, workshops, and in-services to stay informed of current best practices in the area of food and nutrition so we can better serve the needs of our students and staff.
Student Wellness
The Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) recognizes that student wellness and proper nutrition are related to students’ physical well-being, growth, development, and readiness to learn. The CAIU believes that children who begin each day as healthy individuals will be better prepared for academic success. The CAIU Administration and Board of Directors are committed to providing a school environment that promotes student wellness, proper nutrition, nutrition education, and regular physical activity (adapted for each student’s needs) as part of the total learning experience. Our goal is a healthier generation for tomorrow!
Wellness Policy Assessment
Federal regulations at 7 CFR 210.31 require local education agencies (LEAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program to complete an assessment of their local school wellness policy at least once every three years and make the results available to the public. Our Wellness Policy
Contact
405 E. Winding Hill Rd
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
717.732.8484
Jason Derr, Principal
jderr@caiu.org
717.732.8400, Ext. 8554
Lee Bzdil, Program Supervisor
lbzdil@caiu.org
717.732.8400, Ext. 8019