Quote:
Originally Posted by NJGOAT
I know several people in education in the area, a couple of neighbors and family members who have decades in the system in various positions. They will all tell you that Cherry Hill is a great district, but they have their challenges. First and foremost the budgets are tight, the residents are against anymore tax increases and some of the schools have overcrowding issues. The classroom instruction is still top-notch, but not radically better than what you will find in many of the other surrounding "good" districts, many of which don't have the problems Cherry Hill is facing with their budgets and body counts.
Also, while it may not be PC to say it, Cherry Hill's diversity has a LOT to do with their high test scores. The type of diversity attracted to Cherry Hill just happens to be the kind heavily invested in their kids education. These people were attracted to the school district to begin with, but have since taken it to another level and attracted even more fo the same. Therefore, some of what makes Cherry Hill look good on paper has more to do with the types of students going there and their demanding parents then it does with any magic mojo the district has. Moral of the story, Cherry Hill looks great on paper, but the actual educational experience isn't much different than what you will find in other towns with good districts.
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I agree with the above. For many of the Asian and Indian children, the 9 to 330 pm shift in CH schools is just a warm-up. From there it is off to Kumon or some other tutoring program. It is not that Asian or Indian kids are inherently smarter, it is just that their culture emphasizes education almost to the exclusion of any other activity. The net result is some high academic achievers.
The CH schools are falling apart while the township is investing in new firestations and police cars, but the test scores remain high because of industrious first generation families that understand that education is the path to prosperity and who are bringing the emphasis on education to a new level.
The teaching is likely high quality, but several school buildings border on being condemned (Rosa Middle School). Frankly, this is a disgrace because we moved into the district, not for its prisinte fire stations and fancy, supercharged police cars, but rather for the then perceived reputation of the schools. I hope that we did not, but still fear that we did, make a mistake.
And, if the residents of Cherry Hill think that they are saving $$$ by voting down school budgets, then they are being pennywise but pound foolish. It is the schools that drive real estate prices. Another poster suggested that folks pay a premium to live in Cherry Hill. This is nonsense. In fact, it seems that real estate within this community as done nothing but stagnate over the past 11 years.
Folks who grew up in Cherry Hill are branching out to communities such as Voorhees, Mt. Laurel and Moorestown because the housing stock is newer and the schools ratings on the rise. Within a few years, I predict that Voorhees and surrounding schools will attain higher test scores unless Cherry Hill begins to update its school's physical structures.