Hillcrest also has an award-winning TV and internet-based magazine. Established in September 1989, the show has become one of the nation's most-honored scholastic journalism programs, earning the following national awards:
HTV Magazine is student-produced, and has consistently covered compelling, sometimes controversial topics since 1989. In 2002, HHS Principal Dr. Julie Leeth received the national "Courage In Journalism" award for backing HTV when the district sought to censor a student commentary. In March 2013, HTV's "Homeless in the Heartland" special received rave reviews nationally. "Bay 11" is the newest addition to the Hillcrest broadcasting department. It is a bi-monthly podcast featuring stories and interviews of interest to teenagers. It started in the fall of 2017 and can be accessed via numerous apps, including iTunes and Spotify. Dave Davis created HTV Magazine and "Bay 11," and continues to work as the adviser for the shows while teaching Broadcast Journalism I and II classes. He was named a "Distinguished Adviser" by the Journalism Education Association in 2015. He was named Springfield Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2009. Davis also helped found the Student Television Network in 1999, and served as the chairman of its first five national conventions. Since the summer of 2000, Davis has hosted the Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting's summer workshops for teachers, training educators from 48 states and five countries outside the United States.
FFA (Future Farmers of America)
Hillcrest is the first, and only school in the Springfield R–12 district to have a Future Farmers of America chapter. The chapter was chartered in 2019.
Hillcrest is the only high school in Springfield, Missouri to have a JROTC program, associated with the Army. The JROTC program teaches students citizenship and patriotism. They are recognized throughout the community for their volunteerism and community service. The cadets visit the Veterans' Home several times yearly to support the veterans. The JROTC Program at Hillcrest has several activities the different teams participate in. They have a saber team, color guard, shooting team, and exhibition team. The color guard has performed at several events in the community from the Missouri State bears basketball games to the 9/11 ceremony the JROTC holds at Hillcrest High School every year on September 11.
Hillcrest basketball
Hillcrest boys have won state championships in 1984 and 2010, with a runner-up in Class 5 in 2012. The Lady Hornets also advanced to the final four in 2012.
Hillcrest High School is known for its baseball program. Dick Birmingham is its most well known coach. Under Birmingham's reign, 120 players received college baseball scholarships or signed professional contracts, with six players drafted professionally from the 1966 Hillcrest team and four others taken during the 1972 major league draft. In 1990 he was inducted into the halls of fame of both the American Baseball Coaches Association and the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association. The most recent player drafted was pitcher Jon Barratt by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003. Twenty-three players have been drafted from Hillcrest since 1960, more than any other school in Springfield. Some of its better known players are: Bob Detherage, George Frazier, Doug Bennett and Keith Drumright, just to name a few. Hillcrest has won eight state championships, six in American Legion baseball, and two in high school. On January 26, 2014, the Hillcrest baseball program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the highest honor the state bestows on scholastic programs. This was the first baseball program to be inducted. Coaches that followed Birmingham included Dave Davis, Byron Hagler, and Ryan Schaffitzel, who is the current head coach.
Renovations
On April 4, 2006, Springfield Public Schools' voters approved an 18-cent increase in the district's debt service levy. Among the approved projects was an upgrade to the science and technology labs at Hillcrest and two other Springfield high schools. The project added new science–technology classroom labs, renovated old lab space into additional classrooms; remodeled and provided new areas for student services. The final cost was $5.75 million. Construction began in September 2007 and finished in 2008.
Notable alumni
Daniel Arnall, NBC Nightly News, Executive Producer, Weekend Edition; Past Executive Producer of Bloomberg News
