 The school mascot is the "Lancer".Hilltop boasts the magnet program Foreign Language and Global Studies (FLAGS) as well as the Academies of Hospitality and Tourism (H&T), Information Technology (IT) programs, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Music Technology, Televideo, and Ballet Folklorico.For the 2007–08 school year, former Montgomery Middle School principal Ernesto Zamudio took over as principal for Hilltop High School and replaced the retiring Jerry Rindone who had served Hilltop since 1997.