Saturday school in the forecast
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
3/14/2010

Parents of Cherry Hill students may want to put off those summer vacations for at least three more days in June. Because the district lost four school days – and counting – due to snow and inclement weather, three more days have been added at the end of the year. Public Information Officer Susan Bastnagel said at least three days have been added to the end of the school year, extending the year until June 22 throughout the district.

One day was already made up when students attended class on President’s Day. The board had discussions last year to possibly make up days if needed during spring break, Bastnagel said.

However, because of the dates of several religious holidays, it was determined that would not be a feasible option.

“There was quite a discussion last year whether to take days out of spring break. Ultimately, because of the way religious holidays fall, the board opted not to do that. We’ll make them up at the end of the year,” she said.

Graduation ceremony dates for Cherry Hill High School East and West have already been set and can’t be changed without a great deal of difficulty, she said.

Because the graduation events take place in Temple University’s Liacouras Center, the dates are pretty much set in stone, she said.

East will have its graduation on June 17 and West on June 16. To keep both of these dates and meet the minimum number of school days required for a year, Bastnagel said the two high schools might have to hold Saturday sessions. East would have to hold one and West would have to hold two, she said.

“We did this a few years ago, it was actually pretty successful. They had financial literacy speakers attend the schools and host sessions that would help students as they move on to college or their post-high school careers,” she said. “It was a number of small seminars, it was fairly successful. The problem for us is that West’s graduation is scheduled for June 16 and they would have to have two Saturday sessions.”

The financial sessions were popular in the past, she said, and students seemed to enjoy them. However, it would get even more complicated if the district has to close schools anymore in March.

For updated information on the school year schedule and graduations, visit the district Web site at cherryhill.k12.nj.us.