Cherry Hill Teacher Suspended For Raising Safety Concerns: Report

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A teacher at Cherry Hill High School East was suspended last week after raising concerns about security at the school following the school shootings in Florida earlier this month. On Monday, students staged a protest in support of the beloved teacher, and were threatened with a suspension by the school's administration for their actions.

Students at Cherry Hill High School East were already protesting Monday morning when Principal Dennis Perry announced that anyone who participated in a planned demonstration would be suspended and not allowed to go to the prom, the Philly Voice reports. Perry told students he assumed they were protesting because they felt as though their voices weren’t being heard. He told them anyone wishing to be heard could meet with him in the auditorium immediately after the announcements.

The protest was in support of 59-year-old teacher Timothy Locke, who said he was suspended after a student became upset about comments the teacher made about school security last week, according to philly.com. Locke said he was concerned about his school’s safety after 17 people were killed during a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida earlier this month.

The school district issued a letter about the school's security the day after the shooting, saying "safety and security remain the primary focus of our responsibility, every day."

"We have every confidence in our Director of Security, Anthony Saporito, and the guidance of the Cherry Hill Police Department and Camden County Prosecutor's Office in leading our best practices and protocols for prevention and emergency response," Cherry Hill Public Schools Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche said in the letter, which was posted online.

He also urged parents to be responsible when discussing the issue, and said resources are available to help students on the district's website.

Overall, Locke is a beloved teacher at the school, earning 4.82 stars out of 5 on ratemyteachers.com. The average rating for teachers at the school is 4.12.

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He also isn't alone in his feeling of concern. Parents at a school safety forum at Voorhees Middle School told school administrators, police officers and state and local elected officials their children are afraid to go to school, and they didn't blame them.

"My daughter is a senior at Eastern and she's afraid to go to school. I don't blame her, but I have to send her," one resident said.

Another said she has a nine-year-old at Osage Elementary School who is afraid to go to school, while another asked about teacher training in that school district. She said her children said that during a shelter in place at the high school in which a student threatened to "shoot up the school," teachers were consulting their manual as to what they should do.

After the shelter in place, students at Eastern Regional High School walked out during classes. There were also walkouts at Southern Regional High School and Middletown High School on the same day.

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The Cherry Hill Public School District Board of Education will hold a regular action meeting on Tuesday night, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. at the Malberg Administration Building, located at 45 Ranoldo Terrace. To view the agenda for that meeting, visit chclc.org.

Patch file photo