Cherry Hill Public Schools


The Cherry Hill Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Cherry Hill, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States.
As of the 2017-18 school year, the district, comprising 19 schools, had an enrollment of 11,078 students and 841.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 13.2:1. It is the twelfth-largest school district in the state of New Jersey and one of the largest suburban districts.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "GH", the third-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Awards and recognition

For the 2001-2002 school year, Cherry Hill High School East received the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. During the 2009-10 school year, Rosa International Middle School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence. Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School was honored by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 2019, one of nine schools in the state recognized as Exemplary High Performing Schools.
Three of the district's schools have been named as "Star Schools" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve. Cherry Hill High School East was recognized for the 1999-2000 school year,
Thomas Paine Elementary School in 2002-2003 and Clara Barton Elementary School was honored with this award in 2003-2004.
Joyce Kilmer and Thomas Paine Elementary Schools were recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as two of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award.
In addition, the district has three New Jersey Department of Education Governor's Schools of Excellence, and five Best Practices Award Winners. SAT scores far exceed state and national averages. In 2005, the graduation rate was nearly 100% and more than 97% of graduates are continuing their education at two- or four-year colleges.

Controversy

In April 2012, the parent of an autistic student released a video as evidence that his son was the subject of emotional abuse by an aide at Horace Mann Elementary School. The parent had wired his son before sending him to school and told reporters that "he caught his son's teachers gossiping, talking about alcohol and violently yelling at students", which led to one of the aides involved being fired after officials listened to the tape.

Cherry Hill Education Foundation

Along with awards and honors of the school district, the Cherry Hill Education Foundation was established in 1998. The Cherry Hill Education Foundation is an all volunteer, non-profit organization that helps support innovative and educational programs in the Cherry Hill School District that cannot be funded by the District Budget. Since November 2007, the Foundation has funded over $207,000 in grants to various schools throughout the district. The Cherry Hill Education Foundation raises funds from individuals, public and private grants, and corporate sponsorships, and by hosting a variety of fundraising events.
The Cherry Hill Education Foundation is an all volunteer organization that was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organization and has raised over $200,000 to aid schools since 2007. The Foundation is a 501 non-profit that has a primary mission to support the Cherry Hill School District and to encourage community involvement and awareness of the schools, the students, and student programs. The Foundation aims to recognize the accomplishments of the District, the students, the teachers, and the community. Since 1998, the foundation has had three objectives:
  1. To promote student development through enriched programs and activities, and recognition of student accomplishments.
  2. To encourage creativity among employees by supporting unique growth opportunities, providing resources for creative teaching ideas, and recognizing employee accomplishments.
  3. To encourage school-community partnerships by promoting community awareness about school programs, providing ways for individuals and organizations to share resources with the school to enhance learning, and facilitating cooperative ventures among the Foundation, community groups, and the school district.

    Schools

Schools in the district are:
;Early childhood
;Elementary schools
;Middle schools
;High schools
Core members of the district's administration are:
The district's board of education has nine members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held as part of the November general election.