Hillcrest is the only high school in Springfield, Missouri to have a JROTC program, associated with the Army.

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.

Under Birmingham's reign, 120 players received college baseball scholarships or signed professional contracts, with six players drafted professionally from the 1966 Hillcrest team (a national high school record) and four others taken during the 1972 major league draft.

[2] The most recent player drafted was pitcher Jon Barratt by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003.

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.