Cherry Hill Public Schools

The Cherry Hill Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Cherry Hill Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States.

As of the 2008-09 school year, the district's 19 schools had an enrollment of 11,470 students and 815.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.1.^[1] It is the twelfth-largest school district in the state of New Jersey and one of the largest suburban districts. The district has grown by about 2,000 students in the last 12 years.

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.^[3]

Awards and honors

For the 2001-2002 school year, Cherry Hill High School East received the Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.^[4] During the 2009-10 school year, Rosa International Middle School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence.^[5]

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 in 1990-2000,^[6] Thomas Paine Elementary School in 2002-2003^[7] and Clara Barton Elementary School was honored with this award in 2003-2004.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.

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 of 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 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey as a non-profit organization. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) 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 Cherry Hill Education has abided by three objectives:

1. [1] To promote student development through enriched programs and activities, and recognition of student accomplishments.
2. [2] To encourage creativity among employees by supporting unique growth opportunities, providing resources for creative teaching ideas, and recognizing employee accomplishments.
3. [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.

The Cherry Hill Education Foundation distributes funds to award grant applicants. The Foundation works to support programs that allow for innovation and creativity in the classroom that cannot be supported by the district’s budget. The requirements of the grant according to the Foundation’s website are as follows:

1. Applicants must complete the Grant Application.
2. The project administrator is responsible for implementing the grant at his or her school. The grantees are the principals, teachers, and/or classrooms affected by the project. Notification and other correspondence will be directed only to the project administrator.
3. Completed applications must have the appropriate principal authorization.
4. Applications must be completed and submitted by December 31.

After the Grant Committee reviews all the applications and makes recommendations to the Foundation Board, the Board votes and determines how funding will be distributed.

Grants Awarded:

According to the Foundation’s website, “the Cherry Hill Education Foundation, with the support of corporate and community partners, has funded more than $207,000 in grants since November 2007.” The Foundation has awarded one or more grants to each of the nineteen schools within the Cherry Hill School District.

How Funds are Raised:

A non-profit organization, the Cherry Hill Education Foundation raises funds from individuals, public and private grants, and corporate sponsorships, and by hosting a variety of fundraising events. Some of the previous events of the Cherry Hill Education Foundation include Dancing with the Cherry Hill Stars!, Cherry Hill’s Got Talent!, and An Evening at the Coastline. At Dancing with the Cherry Hill Stars, members of the community were paired with professional dancers in a competition to raise funds for the Foundation. Cherry Hill’s Got Talent was a community-wide talent show. An Evening at the Coastline provided staff and community members an opportunity to enjoy music, food, and an evening with friends while supporting the Foundation. The Foundation also hosts an Annual Golf Outing, where the business community is invited to participate as golfers and sponsors.

Schools

The system is made up of 19 schools. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[10]) are listed in the following table:

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:^[11][12]

• Dr. David C. Campbell – Superintendent^[13]
• James Devereaux – Business Administrator/Board Secretary

References

External links

• Cherry Hill Public Schools
• Cherry Hill Public Schools's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Cherry Hill Township Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Cherry Hill Education Foundation