The Cherry Hill Board of Education listens to a presentation on school safety at the Tuesday meeting.
Many of the 38 Alternative High School students now located for the first time in the Cherry Hill High School East building have exhibited positive behavior since relocating from the Lewis Administration Building, Lauren Giordano, the Alternative High principal, said at a school board meeting on Tuesday.
The decade-long discussed transition occurred earlier this year amid parents' concerns that relocating the students would exacerbate East's overcrowding, require some teachers to share classrooms and could lead to harassment of Alternative High School students. The concerns were not mentioned during Giordano's presentation.
Giordano said that, among Alternative High School students in the first quarter of the school year, club participation increased 33%, sports participation increased 15%, academic performance was up 66% and attendance at school functions was up 82%. She also said there was a decrease in discipline referrals, but did not provide a specific amount.
"It has been a huge shift and a really, really great one. I cannot say enough nice things about the students' experiences," Giordano said. "The kids are acclimating. They are doing well," she said.
The principal said the district's efforts to make the Alternative High students feel welcome and provide them with after-school transportation could be factors in the increases and decrease. Board Member Kimberly Gallagher noted the relocation "really enhanced" both the Alternative High School and East High School programs. Â
One capital project costs more than expected
Installation of a new cafeteria with a stage, enhancement of the main entrances and other district bond-funded improvements within Rosa International Middle School will cost about $16.2 million, which is about $1.9 million higher than initially estimated, according to the school district's architect.
Reasons for the higher construction bill include the discovery of asbestos-containing materials during the replacement of 42 classroom doors, the rewiring of the electrical work surrounding the doors and a more expensive refrigerant needed for the HVAC systems, according to Bob Garrison of Garrison Architects.
"This is the first bid (for a referendum project) that has come in significantly over budget," noted Lynn Shugars, the district assistant superintendent, business.
"This was a curveball," Garrison said.
School violence drops, but some safety issues are concerning
Anthony Saporito, the district director of security, told the board of 184 incidents in the district Student Safety Data System Report in the 2023-24 school year, up from 159 in 2022-23.
He said the breakdown, with 2023-24 listed first and 2022-23 second, is:
- 29 incidents involved violence, down from 41.
- Two involved vandalism, up from one.
- Eight involved weapons, up from four.
- 58 involved substance use, up from 33.
- 87 involved confirmed harassment, intimidation and bullying incidents stemming from 189 allegations, up from 80 confirmed incidents and 170 allegations.
Saporito said parents, students, teachers and staff are key to reducing these numbers.
"Everything starts at home. There are things that can be spotted at home, there are things that can be taken care of at home," Saporito said. "The students who see their friends every day know their friends (and) know when something is not right with their friends. A simple question: 'Hey, what's wrong?' could lead to the stopping of something happening."
