We Moved to Better Serve Our Community
The Hillcrest Academy is Hillcrest Educational Center’s therapeutic day school. We provide comprehensive education and clinical behavior support services to children and adolescents with autism and/or social-emotional challenges from school districts in the Berkshires and surrounding communities.
Formerly known as the Housatonic Academy, we opened this day school program in 2004 in collaboration with Berkshire County's special education administrators, who saw a growing need for a therapeutic learning environment to serve students whose needs could not be met in a conventional school setting.


Moving to a larger space allows us to serve up to twice as many students!
Revitalizing the former St. Mark's School building
Relocating to this 40,000 square foot school building enables the Hillcrest Academy to:
• Expand services to additional students and increase staff size.
• Increase classroom and activities space to optimize the learning environment and reduce potential stressors.
• Help keep more special needs students close to home.
• Utilize the former Parish building as a center for social and recreational events for both students and community members.
• Streamline educational programming for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students in Hillcrest's care.
• Hillcrest's ASD Residential students will be transported from their campus in Lenox for the educational portion of their day, allowing all of Hillcrest's ASD students to be educated in the same program.
Relocating to this 40,000 square foot school building will enable the Housatonic Academy to:
• Expand services to additional students and increase staff size.
• Increase classroom and activities space to optimize the learning environment and reduce potential stressors.
• Help keep more special needs students close to home.
• Utilize the former Parish building as a center for social and recreational events for both students and community members.
• Streamline educational programming for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students in Hillcrest's care.
• Hillcrest's ASD Residential students will be transported from their campus in Lenox for the educational portion of their day, allowing all of Hillcrest's ASD students to be educated in the same program.
Relocating to this 40,000 square foot school building will enable the Housatonic Academy to:
• Expand services to additional students and increase staff size.
• Increase classroom and activities space to optimize the learning environment and reduce potential stressors.
• Help keep more special needs students close to home.
• Utilize the former Parish building as a center for social and recreational events for both students and community members.
• Streamline educational programming for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students in Hillcrest's care.
• Hillcrest's ASD Residential students will be transported from their campus in Lenox for the educational portion of their day, allowing all of Hillcrest's ASD students to be educated in the same program.
Relocating to this 40,000 square foot school building will enable the Housatonic Academy to:
• Expand services to additional students and increase staff size.
• Increase classroom and activities space to optimize the learning environment and reduce potential stressors.
• Help keep more special needs students close to home.
• Utilize the former Parish building as a center for social and recreational events for both students and community members.
• Streamline educational programming for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students in Hillcrest's care.
• Hillcrest's ASD Residential students will be transported from their campus in Lenox for the educational portion of their day, allowing all of Hillcrest's ASD students to be educated in the same program.
Won't you help us reach our Community
Contribution Goal of $750,000?

This relocation was an investment both in student success and our community. Hillcrest has invested $4.65 million, and we've asked the community to contribute $750,000. Although we're already in the building, there's still a lot of work that needs to happen over the next year to give these students the education they deserve.
Support Your Community & Student Success
Our goals:
• Help more local students develop the knowledge and coping skills they need to succeed in our community.
• Revitalize a remarkable building and continue its mission of educating youth and serving as a true community establishment.
This relocation is an investment in both student success and our community. And we’re asking you to be a part of it.
• Help more local students develop the knowledge and coping skills they need to succeed in our community.
• Revitalize a remarkable building and continue its mission of educating youth and serving as a true community establishment.
This relocation is an investment in both student success and our community. And we’re asking you to be a part of it.
• Help more local students develop the knowledge and coping skills they need to succeed in our community.
• Revitalize a remarkable building and continue its mission of educating youth and serving as a true community establishment.
This relocation is an investment in both student success and our community. And we’re asking you to be a part of it.
• Help more local students develop the knowledge and coping skills they need to succeed in our community.
• Revitalize a remarkable building and continue its mission of educating youth and serving as a true community establishment.
This relocation is an investment in both student success and our community. And we’re asking you to be a part of it.
Won’t you help us reach our goals?
To make this happen, we need your help. Your contribution will help create brighter futures for local students, revive a community center, and support families in the Berkshires.
Donate NowClick here to help support this important goal, or mail a donation to:
Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc.
ATTN: Development, St. Mark’s
788 South Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201