Beginning on January 26, 2024, Cherry Hill East students will have a half day on the fourth Friday of every month. This new policy was recently implemented by Cherry Hill East principal Dr. Dennis Perry.

The idea had previously been brought up numerous times and is finally taking place. Half-days on the last Friday of every month have numerous advantages for both the students and the teachers at East.

“The expectations and demands of our school and the children that are in our school seem to grow every year. There’s always new policies, new practices, new laws, new situations and time is needed to learn about those,” said Dr. Perry.

Unlike the elementary schools and middle schools, the high school teachers only have two hours a month to prepare for their classes. In the current system, teachers have a one-hour faculty meeting and a one-hour department meeting each month. This is not nearly enough time for all of the teachers to prepare their lessons and material and meet with other members of their department. The elementary school teachers have time to prepare in the morning and the middle school teachers have time during the day to prepare for lessons or meet with colleagues. With the half-day schedule, the high school teachers will get to meet with their departments and have more time to make their lesson plans and assemble their material for the next month.

“It provides a much needed opportunity for our staff to learn and develop professionally,” says Dr. Perry.

This will also be advantageous for the students in many ways. Along with their teachers being better prepared with their lessons and activities, students will have the opportunity to “decompress and take some time to themselves. They will benefit from having teachers that are more equipped to teach them,” said Dr. Perry.

The policy was implemented in the middle of the year for various reasons, mainly being the teachers’ urgency.

“There is a lot that has to get done so why wait,” said Dr. Perry. As of right now, this implementation is a permanent change to the East schedule.

Overall, Dr. Perry is optimistic that this policy will positively impact all members of the East community.

Dr. Perry is very excited and “the new policy is something that [he] is really happy to have.”