Cherry Hill Schools Set for Earlier Start to 2013

Labor Day doesn’t just mark the end of summer this year—it also signals the start of Cherry Hill’s extended school day.

Ten months after the school board OK’d a new teacher contract to tack on extra classroom time to the day, students will head in half an hour earlier across the district—7:30 a.m. for the high schools, 8 a.m. for the middle schools and 9 a.m. for all the elementary schools.

Even with 61 new teachers coming in this year, all 19 schools are well-prepared for the move, Superintendent Maureen Reusche said.

Of course, there are bound to be some bugs to work out, Reusche said, especially in terms of busing around the township, and she asked parents to be understanding in the initial few weeks of school.

“There are thousands of children we’re transporting around the district,” she said. “We really appreciate the patience of parents.”

Though the day starts earlier this year, after-school activities are unaffected by the extended school day, something school board members said was taken into account during negotiations with teachers and staff last year.

The earlier start to the day isn’t universally loved—several parents and students criticized it when the school board OK’d the change in November 2012, and Cherry Hill West’s Ryan Gallagher, the school’s student representative to the school board, said high-schoolers, especially, aren’t looking forward to the early day.

“No one is very happy about it right now,” he said.

The additional classroom time brings Cherry Hill’s day to seven hours, just slightly above the state average.