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ERS Successful School Practices

A selection of successful practices, programs, and ideas contributed by school districts to the ERS Successful School Practices Collection and announced in the ERS periodical, Successful School Practices, mailed to ERS Comprehensive subscribers three times a year.

Spring 2001

A High-Performing Suburban District Takes Aim at the Achievement Gap
Cherry Hill Public Schools, New Jersey

Identifying the Need for Change

Cherry Hill, New Jersey, has changed in the past 30 years from an area consisting mainly of farms and orchards to a rapidly growing suburban community. The Cherry Hill School District has grown from one elementary, one middle, and one high school to one early childhood center, 12 elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools serving 11,500 students. It continues to experience an enrollment increase of about 200 students a year.

At the same time, Cherry Hill has become increasingly rich in diversity. While the school community years ago included just a few students of color, it is now composed of about 79 percent white students, 13 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 7 percent African American, and 2 percent Latino.

Cherry Hill has earned a reputation as a community with excellent schools. However, district superintendent Morton Sherman has urged district leaders not to be content to rest on their laurels. Several years ago, as part of the district’s long-range planning effort, the board of education created the following vision statement: “The Cherry Hill Board of Education commits itself to all children by creating an internationally bench-marked school district in which all students receive a preeminent education.”

Dr. Sherman, who began his tenure in 1997, was committed to realizing this vision. When researching student trends districtwide, Dr. Sherman realized that a problem that exists nationally was also occurring in Cherry Hill. Although average student achievement scores in the district were high, disaggregated test scores showed as much as a 20-point gap in the scores of students of color compared to those of their peers. Participation in Advanced Placement and Honors-level courses also showed a gap.

In 1998, the district’s central-office administrators and principals were charged with addressing this challenge: how could this high-performing district fulfill its mission of helping all students achieve high academic standards? The Cherry Hill Minority Civic Association was brought into the conversation, as well as students, teachers, and a board member.

Spirited discussion took place regarding whether to release the data as well as the factors that contribute to the achievement gap, such as socio-economics, problems at home, and the number of years a child attended Cherry Hill Schools. In the end, however, the group concluded, “If we believe that every child can learn, provided they have the right environment and opportunities, then the district has an obligation to do everything in its power to ensure that every child learns.”

Building administrators attended seminars to learn how other school districts were addressing the issue. However, most of the solutions they learned about were designed for districts with high minority and economically disadvantaged populations. It was clear that a solution for Cherry Hill would need to incorporate components from national models, but tailor these approaches to the specific needs of the community.

Minority Achievement Committee

To address the challenge of the achievement gap, the district created a Minority Achievement Committee. Chaired by Pat McCargo of the Cherry Hill Minority Civic Association and George Munyan, Assistant Principal for High School West, the committee was charged with drafting a plan for raising achievement for students of color in the district. Sixty people, consisting of parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members, attended the first meeting in May of 2000. They met monthly as a group from May through December, and more frequently in smaller groups when working on specific solutions.

The committee’s short-term goals were to:

• review national and local trends in minority achievement;
• brainstorm and come to a consensus on what the community would like to see in our schools; and
• propose solutions for improving minority achievement in the Cherry Hill School District.

The committee presented its recommendations to the Board of Education in December 2000. These recommendations fell into five areas: curriculum, guidance, parent and student support, recruiting and hiring practices, and diversity training.

So far, the following initiatives have begun producing results.

Recruitment. A recruitment plan that includes attracting teachers of color to the district has been implemented. The Human Resource Manager, along with administrators and members of the community, attended job fairs at minority colleges and universities. Of the teachers hired last year, 13 percent were minorities. This was double the rate of the previous two years and the highest number of minority recruits in one year in the history of the district. The district has also built relationships with minority student teachers working in the district, urging them to interview and remain with the district. This effort has also proven to be successful.

Encouraging Students to Enroll in AP/Honors Classes. High school administrators met with minority students and their parents to discuss reasons why they did not enroll in higher-level courses and to encourage them to do so. This has resulted in more students of color opting for higher-level courses and succeeding in these courses.

Implementation of Standards Reform. The district has implemented standards reform throughout the district. Standards have been set high for all students. Students at risk of not achieving the standards are provided additional support. Portfolios of students at risk are created and monitored for improvement. A summer math program has been created for all elementary and middle school students beginning in July 2001. The program is designed to help with remediation and allow students to move to a higher level of math for the coming school year. Transportation is being provided so that no student is kept from attending the program. Initial test results on the New Standards Reference Exams indicate that performance of all students has improved and the gap has begun to narrow.

Diversity Training. All administrators will receive diversity training beginning in May and throughout the summer. Diversity training will be ongoing in the district.

Parent-Student Advocate. The district has created and posted a position for a student and parent advocate to assist families with school decisions and issues. This position will begin in September 2001.

Parent Outreach. The Minority Achievement Committee is creating a plan for parent outreach to be implemented this summer as new families enter the district.

By acknowledging and focusing on the achievement gap, district leaders have begun a process that is bringing about an awareness of how educators approach teaching and learning. They are optimistic that they can begin to close the achievement gap by implementing the initiatives recommended by the Minority Achievement Committee.

For more information about Cherry Hill Public School District’s Minority Achievement Initiative, contact:
Morton Sherman
Superintendent
Malberg Administration Building
45 Ranoldo Terrace
P.O. Box 5015
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034
Tel: 856-429-5600
Fax: 856-354-1864

Contributed by:
Gail Cohen
Public Information Officer

Cherry Hill Public Schools
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
(enrollment 11,500)
Superintendent:
Morton Sherman

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