Cherry Hill High School East

Updated on Nov 22, 2023

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Type Public high school Principal Dr. Dennis Perry Phone +1 856-424-2222 Founded 1967		Established 1967 Faculty 132.3 FTEs Color White

School district Cherry Hill Public Schools Asst. principals John Burns Bob Hulme Betsi McLeester Bernie O'Connor Marsha Pecker Address 1750 Kresson Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, USA District Cherry Hill Public Schools Profiles Twitter Facebook

Cherry Hill High School East (also known as Cherry Hill East or CHE) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Cherry Hill Public Schools. The school opened in 1967 as the township's second high school; what then became known as Cherry Hill High School West was the first public high school in Cherry Hill. The first class graduated in June 1970, having started their freshman year in the Fall of 1966 in the West building doing split sessions until the East building was ready for occupancy in January 1967. The class of 1970 was the only class in the new building until the class of 1971 arrived in Fall 1967. By Fall 1969, the building housed all four grades. The school is one of three high schools in the district; the others are Cherry Hill High School West and Cherry Hill Alternative High School.

As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,159 students and 132.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 16.3:1. There were 209 students (9.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 76 (3.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

Cherry hill high school east marching band polovtsian dances

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 2001–02 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.

In 2015, Newsweek ranked Cherry Hill High School East the 85th best high school in the nation out of 22,000 schools.

In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 354th in the nation among participating public high schools and 29th among schools in New Jersey.

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 65th in New Jersey and 1,833rd nationwide. The school was ranked 1,664th nationwide, the 66th-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools. In Newsweek's 2007 edition of "America's Top Public High Schools" ranked Cherry Hill High School East in 1,258th place, the 38th-highest ranked school in New Jersey.

The school was the 40th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 98th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 57th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 61st in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 42nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 36th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.3%) and language arts literacy (98.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).

Cherry Hill High School East won the 1998 National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The American Scholastic Press Association named Cherry Hill High School East's newspaper, Eastside, number one in the country in 2005, and number one in the state from 2007–2013.

In 2009, the team representing Cherry Hill High School East produced a documentary that placed nationally in the Senior Group Documentary division of the National History Day competition in College Park, Maryland.

Facilities

Cherry Hill East has seven wings named alphabetically:

¹ Automotive technology courses were once conducted in this wing, until the school dropped the course entirely. Currently, Applied Technology courses are held inside the former automotive classrooms.

Other facilities

2 Auditoriums

Main auditorium

"The Little Theatre"

2 Cafeterias

3 Courtyards

4 Gymnasiums (listed below from largest to smallest)

DiBart Gym

Pool on 3rd floor of B Wing

East Gym

Auxiliary Gym

Dance Gym

Weight room

Nurse's office

Library/Media center

Grade-fixing scandal

In 2007, the school received coverage for a grade-fixing incident, after two students had been found to have used a teacher's password to hack into the board of education's database and change at least six other students' grades. In September 2006, during a routine check, the school became aware of the changes and began an investigation with the police. In January 2007, two students were arrested for the crime and charged with third degree computer theft. One was a freshman at Drexel University while the other was still a senior at East. The students received probation after pleading guilty. Four more students were disciplined by the school for paying the two hackers to change their grades.

Robotics

The Cherry Hill High School East Robotics club is one of the top programs in the state, consistently sending at least one team to the Vex Robotics World Championship since 2009. The teams have received numerous awards and acknowledgements both within the state and the world. The school has hosted the New Jersey state championship, at which the 2616B team has won the New Jersey state championship for the last three years. The 2616F team (Frightening Lightning) qualified for the World Championship in their rookie year (2013) and won the Teamwork award there. In the 2014 season they won multiple awards and competed at the World Championship again, along with 2616B and 2616D.

Athletics

The Cherry Hill High School East Cougars compete in the Olympic Conference, which consists of public and private high schools located in Burlington County and Camden County, and is overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,644 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as South Jersey, Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,082 to 1,934 students in that grade range.

Baseball

The varsity boys' baseball team won the 2014 Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They also won the 1986 Olympic Conference Championship.

Cross country

The varsity boys' cross country team won the South Jersey Group IV boys' NJSIAA sectional championships in 2013 and 2014. They won their first ever State Group IV boys' NJSIAA championship in 2014. The team is coached by Matt Cieslik and assisted by Christopher Meiler.

Basketball

Cherry Hill East's basketball team is coached by David Allen. East basketball teams are consistently ranked in the Top Ten in South Jersey. The team won its first ever South Jersey Group IV boys' NJSIAA championship in 2014, defeating Cherokee High School by a score of 54-41. They retained their South Jersey Group IV title in 2015 with a 48-39 win against Cherokee High School in double overtime.

Football

The Cougars used to play their home games at the township stadium, Jonas C. Morris Stadium, which they shared with Cherry Hill High School West. Annually, the Cougars face cross town rival Cherry Hill West on Thanksgiving morning, a rivalry described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as "one of the best in South Jersey", in which the winner of the contest receives the Al DiBart Memorial Trophy, also known as "The Boot." The Cherry Hill High School West Lions defeated the Cougars 8-0 in 2014 in the 46th game played in the series between the two teams, which Cherry Hill West leads 31-15.

The football team won the South Jersey Group IV state sectional championships in 1988.

Volleyball

The girls' volleyball team, coached by Scott Mooney, won its first New Jersey Group IV state championship in November 2005, posting victories over perennial powerhouses Hunterdon Central Regional High School and Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

The boys' volleyball team, coached by Karl Moehlemann, won New Jersey Group IV state championships in 1996 (vs. Fair Lawn High School), 1997 (vs. West New York Memorial High School) and 1998 (vs. East Brunswick High School). Moehlemann, who established the school's volleyball program in 1994, won his 300th game as coach in May 2011, the most of any coach in South Jersey history to go along with the 11 conference championships and three state titles his teams have won during his 18 years with the team.

Tennis

The boys' tennis team won the 2007 South, Group IV state sectional championship with a string of 5–0 wins over Washington Township High School, Toms River High School North, and ultimately Egg Harbor Township High School in the tournament final.

In 2007, the girls' tennis team won the South Jersey, Group IV state sectional championship with a 4–1 win over Washington Township High School in the tournament final.

Bowling

The boys' bowling team won the overall state championship in 1979. The team won the Group III title in 2007 and went on to win the sport's first Tournament of Champions.

Ice hockey

Cherry Hill High School East has a separate club ice hockey team as a member of the South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League. Every Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, the club plays the Cherokee Ice Hockey Club to raise money for the program.

Swimming

The boys' swimming team repeated as Central Jersey "Public A" Sectional Champions for the 2010 season. Before the 2009 season, the Cougars had a streak as South Jersey "Public A" sectional champions from 1999–2005, with several other similar streaks in years past. The boys' team has been annual contenders for the state championship, losing in both 2010 and 2011 to the Bridgewater-Raritan High School swim team.

Track and field

Cherry Hill East had not had a winning season in almost 30 years until the team of 2009–10 finished their season 3-2. In 2012, the boys' spring track team went undefeated and won the Group IV title, Olympic Conference title, and New Jersey state title. They went to win conference champs again back to back in the 2014 and 2015 outdoor season.

Lacrosse

Cherry Hill East added men's lacrosse to their spring athletics program in 2005. In 2011 they won for the first time the "Lacrosse Head", the trophy given to the team that wins the annual Cherry Hill East vs. Cherry Hill West game. In 2012, the team, led by 15 seniors, had its first winning season and made it first appearance in the NJ state playoffs losing to South Brunswick High School in the opening round. Coached by Erik Wood, son of former East head football coach Bo Wood and Social Studies teacher.

Clubs

Clubs offered include Adopt A Grandparent, African-American, Art, Badminton, Blood Drive, Cheerleading, DECA, FOP, Habitat For Humanity, Ice Skating, Korean Culture, Latino, Mathematics and Namaste.

Music

The Cherry Hill East Music Department is award-winning. In 2007, the Cherry Hill East "East Singers" received a Superior Rating and Best Overall Mixed Ensemble from a Boston Choir Competition.

The East Choral program consists of eight performing groups:

Vocal Workshop: Entry-level choir. No audition necessary. Consists of grades 9–12.

Chansons: Women's choir made up of 10th through 12th grade women. Auditioned group.

Concert Choir: An auditioned mixed choir consisting of 10th through 12th grade men and women.

East Singers: An Advanced auditioned mixed choir consisting of 10th through 12th grade men and women. In addition to school concerts, East Singers performs off-campus in select concerts. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in 1997 and consistently receive superior ratings at adjudications and festivals. They performed Carmina Burana at the Kimmel Center in May 2005 as a Concert for Hope to benefit breast cancer research at City of Hope. The concert raised $40,000. In February 2006, they hosted the first East Coffee House that raised $8319.00 for Alex's Lemonade Stand. The second annual Coffee House was raising money for Suicide Prevention Education. The cafeteria was made up to look like a coffee house and the Thespians and East Singers decided on the slogan "Life is Groovy." The Coffee House is now an annual tradition.

Belles of East: Auditioned group of 14 young women who sing and accompany themselves on English hand bells. All repertoire is arranged by a former or present Belles member. Belles perform throughout the Delaware Valley area all year. They have been invited frequently to perform at Longwood Gardens during the Christmas season and performed in the Cherry Hill Township Arts in Bloom Concert Series.

Vocé (known as Madrigal Singers until 2014): Auditioned group of 19 young men and women who represent the Renaissance era in both music and costume. They have been invited frequently to perform at Longwood Gardens during the Christmas season and performed in the Cherry Hill Township Arts in Bloom Concert Series on March 26, 2006. The group performs throughout the Delaware Valley all year. They have participated in the Rutgers Madrigal Festival and competed at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire where they have won the Highest Accolades Award.

Casual Harmony: An auditioned group of 11 young men who perform everything from ballads to pop tunes. They perform throughout the New Jersey area and have also performed in the Cosmic Rays Cafe in Disney World. Casual Harmony was featured this past December on the NBC morning show, 10!

The Key of She: The newest auditioned a cappella group in East's music program of 13 young women who, like Casual Harmony, perform popular tunes.

Stay Tuned: An auditioned group of around 18 young men and women (usually composed of members of The Key of She and Casual Harmony) who compete in a cappella competitions around the state with current hits. Stay Tuned is set to appear on a Lifetime docuseries following their work with Deke Sharon.

Celebrations: No longer in East's music program but was an auditioned group of traditional hand bell players. Celebrations performed bell arrangements from Classical music to show tunes. Last spring, they guest performed with the Greater South Jersey Chorus.

East is also well known for its dramatic arts with directors Robert Nation and Tom Weaver. Their past shows include Beauty and the Beast, The King and I and Fiddler on the Roof. The Cherry Hill East Drama Department perform five shows a year.

The Cherry Hill East Instrumental Department is made up of various performing groups:

Freshman Wind Ensemble: An entry-level instrumental group featuring primarily Freshman students.

Symphonic Band: An auditioned group consisting of students grades 10–12.

Wind Ensemble: An advanced audition group consisting of students grades 10–12.

String Ensemble: An entry-level instrumental group featuring string musicians primarily grades 9 and 10.

Symphonic Orchestra: An advanced instrumental group featuring string musicians with the accompaniment of some percussionists and brass instrumentalists. This ensemble recently had the honor to perform at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall and will return for their second performance in April 2011.

Jazz Band: An auditioned group of about 20 students, grades 9–12, who perform jazz music. In addition to performing at Cherry Hill East's concerts, this group travels to many off-campus competitions including the annual Cavalcade of Bands Competition and the regional non-competitive Essentially Ellington Competition at Temple University, which is organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Jazz Standards Group: An auditioned group of about 5–7 students, who perform jazz music. This group is based around improvisational solos, worked into each piece of music. This group also travels to many off-campus competitions. The band's instrumentation changes every year. A vocalist sometimes accompanies the band.

Marching band: Cherry Hill East's Marching Band is a non-audition group made up of students grades 9–12. The band is accompanied by the Cherry Hill East Color Guard. The Marching Band performs their field-show at all of the home football games during half-time and in the stands during the game. They also travel to away football games, playing their field-show before the start of the game and also playing during the game. The Marching Band travels to some off-campus festivals each year, for example a competition of bands at Pennsbury High School and one at William Tennet High School.

Small Chamber Groups: Cherry Hill East has many small chamber groups which consist of students grades 9–12. These groups include a Saxophones Quartet, a Brass Quintet, a Clarinet ensemble and some other string ensembles. These groups perform at the Chamber Concert in April.

Administrators

Core members of the school's administration are:

Dr. Lawyer Chapman, a district Assistant Superintendent, was named to serve as principal for the 2013-14 school year after a search did not find a suitable candidate to fill the position.

John Burns, Assistant Principal (Grade Level 11 / Director of Athletics, Supervisor of Health & Physical Education)

Bob Hulme, Assistant Principal (Grade Level 10 / Supervisor of Mathematics, Industrial Technology, Fine Art & Music)

Betsi McLeester, Assistant Principal (Grade Level 9 / Supervisor of Social Studies and World Language)

Bernie O'Connor, Assistant Principal / Director of Athletics (Grade Level 12 / Supervisor of Special Education)

Marsha Pecker, Assistant Principal (Supervisor of English and Science)

Notable alumni

Brad Ascalon (born 1977), industrial designer known for his contemporary furniture lines produced by companies including "Design Within Reach" and Ligne Roset.

Lawrence Bender (born 1957), Academy Award-winning producer for film and television whose credits include Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting and An Inconvenient Truth.

James Berardinelli (born 1967), film critic.

Matt Bush (born 1986), actor mostly known for his role as the teenager who throws away his minutes in the AT&T commercials.

Andy Coen (born 1964), head football coach of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team.

Bill "Stink" Fisher (born 1970), former National Football League player and actor.

Ed Foley (born 1967), Temple Owls football tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.

Glenn Foley (born 1970), former NFL quarterback who played for the New York Jets from 1994–1998.

Eric Goldberg (born 1955), animator and film director best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Adam Goldworm (born 1978, class of 1994), producer of several films and television anthologies including Showtime's Masters of Horror and NBC's Fear Itself.

Bob Greene (born 1958), personal trainer, frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Orel Hershiser (born 1958), former professional baseball pitcher who played most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rick Lancellotti (born 1956), former Major league Baseball player.

Amos Lee (born 1978), singer/songwriter.

Toby Lightman (born 1978), singer/songwriter.

Cristin Milioti (born 1985), Broadway and film actress, who received a 2012 Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in Once.

Leon Rose (born c. 1961), lawyer and sports agent for NBA players, including Allen Iverson and LeBron James.

J. D. Roth (born 1968, class of 1986), host of Endurance.

References

Cherry Hill High School East Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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