About Us

Dogwood Hill School is home to nearly two hundred forty students for the 2024–2025 school year. Our school serves children in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade.  Once completing our program, students attend Valley Middle School.  After VMS, all Oakland students have the opportunity to attend either Indian Hills High School or Ramapo High School.

Construction on Dogwood Hill School was begun in 1964. Mr. Gene Casaleggio was the first principal, serving in this capacity from 1965 to 1994. During his tenure, enrollment at Dogwood Hill School rose to over six hundred students. With the refinement of special education and basic skills practices, along with the additions of art and music classrooms, space has stayed in high demand at Dogwood Hill School, even though, through the demographics of the town, enrollment has dropped.

In September of 1994, Dr. Christopher Lane moved to Dogwood Hill School as principal. Dr. Lane was instrumental in overseeing the beginning of Dogwood Hill School moving into the technology age. When Dr. Lane moved over to become principal at Valley Middle School, Mr. William Beluzzi took the helm of Dogwood Hill School for the next two years.

From September of 1999 to August of 2017, Mr. Glenn Clark was principal. During his tenure, the Computer Lab, which was thought to be on the cutting edge of technology, has given way to mobile laptop carts so that any child can have a computer on their desk during any period of the day. SMART Boards were installed in every classroom, and wireless Internet connectivity is available throughout the building.  

Our current principal, Mr. Sean Bowe, took the reins in September of 2017.  However, this was not his first experience with the Dogwood Hill community. Mr. Bowe began his teaching career as a third-grade teacher at Dogwood Hill School under the direction of Mr. Clark back in 2007.  While the integration of technology in the classroom continues to flourish, we strive to develop our students using research-based teaching strategies and character-building programming to address all aspects of student growth.   

Over the years there are a few characteristics that have remained constant:

The dedication and professionalism of the staff, the support and assistance of the parents, and the team atmosphere that is generated by our community to ensure our students get the best possible education.  These facets are what make Dogwood Hill School such ‘a nice place to grow’.

The web pages that follow offer insight into the educational experiences provided at Dogwood Hill School. Enjoy this virtual visit, and please feel free to come by in person.