East administration undergoes several changes
Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton sent an email to parents of Cherry Hill High School East students on Friday, Feb. 20, at 12 p.m., announcing his recommendation for Dr. John Cafagna — who has been in the district for 27 years — to serve as East’s principal effective July 1, 2026. On Feb. 24, the Cherry Hill Board of Education will vote on whether to appoint him to the role.
A committee consisting of East faculty members and Central Administrators presented Morton with two finalists for the role, who both underwent a series of interviews with East students, faculty, and parents, before Cafagna was ultimately selected.
Cafagna’s appointment follows a tumultuous period for East administration that began with Dr. Dennis Perry’s retirement in September 2024. After which, Mr. Daniel Finkle served as East’s principal from September 2024 to November 2025, before resigning from his position. As a result of Finkle’s abrupt departure, Mrs. Leslie Walker was appointed to the role of East’s interim principal in October 2025, while the search for East’s next permanent principal ensued.
Cafagna has an extensive history in the district, serving as principal of the Coles Alternative Program, Bret Harte Elementary School, Carusi Middle School, Horace Mann Elementary School, and currently, Rosa International Middle School across 21 years. Prior to his numerous experiences in a principal position, Cafagna served for six years in varying positions as an educational technologist, teacher, basketball coach, and assistant principal at Rosa International Middle School.
In his email to East parents, Morton praised Cafagna’s leadership track record and expressed confidence in his ability to lead East.
“Throughout his career, Dr. Cafagna has consistently demonstrated his dedication to fostering collaboration, amplifying student voices, and achieving academic excellence,” Morton wrote. “He is deeply committed to creating a supportive and inspiring environment, and approaches every leadership role with enthusiasm, optimism, and a people-centered philosophy. His deep familiarity with our community will provide inspiration and positive direction for both our students and staff.”
As the fourth principal of East in just two years, Cafagna is expected to bring a renewed sense of stability to the school’s administration. While his exact goals for East’s future still remain unclear, Morton’s recommendation signals the district’s confidence in Cafagna’s ability to guide East into a new chapter of success and achievement.
After nearly thirty years working in the Cherry Hill Public Schools district, Dr. John Cafagna is preparing for his new role as principal of Cherry Hill High School East.
Cafagna began his career in education teaching at a Catholic school before becoming an educational technologist in the district in 1998. A year later, he was hired as a technology teacher at Rosa International Middle School and was promoted to Assistant Principal in 2003. Since then, he has served as principal of the Alternative High School, Carusi Middle School, Bret Harte Elementary School and Horace Mann Elementary School.
“Every single community I went to, I’ve loved,” said Cafagna. “I do like working with older students more, only because I like the opportunity to [incorporate] student voice.”
Despite his extensive experience, Cafagna never needed to formally interview for a position in over twenty years until applying to be the principal of East. His previous roles were a result of recommendations by the superintendent. Cafagna described his decision to apply for the principal position as a natural extension of his career and a longtime aspiration.
He acknowledged the potential concerns regarding his transition from working with elementary- and middle-school students to leading a high school, and explained that his role as principal shifts as students grow. At East, Cafagna hopes to listen to student voices and let things play out rather than micromanage each situation.
“At the younger levels, it’s more about driving kids to where they need to get to. And now, it’s giving kids the keys,” said Cafagna.
For example, Cafagna spoke about creating a monthly roundtable meeting, where randomly chosen students, representatives from the Student Government Association and Eastside could provide input on issues affecting student life. Being visible to staff and students, and making sure they feel heard, is also a priority to Cafagna. During his time as principal of the Alternative High School, he worked with students to implement plans that expanded access to more classes. He hopes to involve students in a similar way at East. Already, Cafagna has received numerous ideas based on concerns from staff and students. These range from exploring more inclusive opportunities such as buddy programs to navigating the new state-mandated cell phone policy.
“We’re going to make sure whenever we can [to] get input from students, because people that listen and follow rules will usually follow rules. People that don’t, will not, no matter what. So, we need to find a happy medium,” said Cafagna.
In his approach, Cafagna sees himself as someone who builds relationships, a mindset especially shaped after needing to balance school and state interests during the COVID-19 pandemic. While he describes it as the biggest challenge he’s had to face in his career, the experience taught him the importance of setting aside different beliefs to reach common goals. As principal, Cafagna hopes to continue fostering clear communication among staff, students and the community.
“For example, if I was called into a classroom for an issue, I like to put a lot of things back in the hands of the teacher. Because [if] the principal just handles everything, that takes away power from having a relationship and conversation in a classroom,” said Cafagna. “I believe in finding pathways to move forward together, even if we don’t find each other best friends.”
Given East’s recent administrative turnover, Cafagna said he hopes to build on the trust he’s earned from a career in the district while ensuring he stays approachable.
“Everywhere I go, I feel like I’ve left a stable system in place that anybody can come in and go and put their lens on, and make it even better,” said Cafagna.
In a role as demanding as a high school principal, Cafagna emphasized the importance of having opportunities for himself to debrief and maintain a work-life balance. He spoke about how he enjoys surfing, biking, boating and fishing in Ocean City, where he lives.
“When I’m here at school, I’m focused all day [on] Cherry Hill East. But then when I get home, I can focus on family, and that’s important, to have differentiated pieces,” said Cafagna.
Finally, Cafagna shared what he wanted the East community to know most: “I’m very excited about this. This was a process to get to this position, and the interview process was long. I’m just so excited that I was the final choice, and I promise I’m going to give you guys my all.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Cherry Hill Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton Sr. announced Mrs. Leslie Walker’s resignation from her position as interim principal of Cherry Hill High School East via email. Stepping down effective Friday, Feb. 27, Walker cited serving East as “one of the greatest honors of [her] career,” in her formal letter of resignation. Dr. Neil Burti, the district’s current director of secondary education, will now assume the role of acting principal for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year.
Walker described her decision to step down as extremely difficult — one she made during the week of the Feb. 6 ICE walkout for personal reasons, wanting to spend more time with her family.
She expressed deep gratitude for East’s assistant principals and teachers but emphasized the importance of a principal being consistently visible and present for their students — a responsibility that, with personal matters taking precedence, she feels she no longer can fulfill for the East community.
“I love this job,” she told Eastside. “I will go to my grave knowing I do it well, but this [stress] is constantly going through me. My work ethic wanted me here at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. That’s the kind of worker I am, but I just couldn’t do it [anymore]; I couldn’t come through. So, I thought of all the stressors in my life, and this is the one I can relieve myself of right now, even though it’s actually the one that gave me the most joy.”
Walker assured that the student body will be placed in good hands under Dr. Burti and Dr. Cafagna, voicing great faith in their leadership and experiences. She wishes to thank East for being “wonderful [and] treating [her] very well,” and leaves her students with a final message: “to be kind — to be friends with each other.”
Having begun her career there in 1995, stepping through Cherry Hill High School East’s halls in October – this time as the school’s premier female principal – was, to Mrs. Leslie Walker, a quite literal walk down memory lane. A truly full-circle moment, she expressed how wonderful it was to experience the school from all lenses: as a young woman first beginning her administrative career, a mother of three children who proudly call East their alma mater and a principal during a time of immense change as both a community and a country.
“It was nice to come back and see some familiar things and some new things – to have people I remembered from before and new people to welcome and help me learn,” she said. “When we were left without a principal in September and I offered to help, I just thought, ‘Oh my God… it’s East. I can’t pass that up.’”
Walker cites “incredible student leadership” as her most cherished aspect of re-experiencing East. Demonstrated through the Feb. 6 ICE walkout — the most memorable part of her time here — Walker was proud to facilitate the demonstration of a cause students were so passionate about.
“When I talked to the kids who were planning it, I told them I didn’t care what their cause was,” she told Eastside. “Whether you believed in the walkout or not, the leadership succeeded, and my goal was to make it work and to… meet the needs of the students who came to me with something they wanted to do within safe parameters.”
Meeting with the heads of culture clubs, SGA and DECA, Walker said she was “blown away” by the ambition and leadership of students pursuing state roles in their areas of interest. The biggest thing she would’ve done differently, thus, would’ve been going out more to interact with students.
“It’s really important for a principal to be visible to the students,” Walker said. “I’ve never worked in a school this big, and it’s pretty unrealistic to think that a principal would know everyone’s name. But, after four years, you get to know them well and you should. I didn’t have the opportunity for that [though] because my learning curve was so vertical.”
She told a story about her time doing interim work at Camden County Technical School three years ago, when her former teaching partner, Mrs. Picardo — whom she worked with 20 years prior — called her about one of their assistant principals having a stroke. Walker seized the opportunity to help where she could, temporarily assuming the role as an assistant principal, and cited logging 12,000 steps daily on her walking watch. When Mrs. Picardo then fell ill, leaving Walker to step in as interim principal there, her walking steps went down to 2,000 — illustrating the stark difference in the expectations between being a principal and any other administrator.
“I didn’t like that I couldn’t get around as much,” she said. “I had so many meetings, and at the time, many were virtual. With so many people coming into my office – kids, parents, teachers here… I was so busy, but I truly would’ve liked to get to know you guys a bit more.”
Walker also discussed how enlightening East’s cultural diversity was for her. Having grown up in an 100% white Pennsylvanian town – where everyone was either Catholic or Protestant, with the exception of only seven Jewish families – attending Penn State in 1978 marked a period of cultural illumination for her. It opened her up to the importance of diversity – having met one of her best friends to this day there, who exposed her to Jewish culture – influencing her decision to raise her children in Cherry Hill specifically for the educational environments fostered in the district.
“All of my children’s best friends were Jewish,” Walker said. “One of their friends was Asian, and now they’re my grandchildren’s godparents. So, those kids are now adults and they’re still a part of my life. This diversity is something my children grew up with from the very beginning, and I value that so much. It was an exciting thing I hadn’t lived with before… I was still learning while my kids grew up with it as part of who they were.”
It was incredible to come back to East 25 years later, she said, and see how diversified it had become. With 52-56 languages spoken between students and staff, Walker said that although such cultural heterogeneity will always come with “growing pains,” it’s immensely important to keep pushing through it together. It’s the most important facet of East, according to her, because such diversity models the real world.
Walker hopes her resignation doesn’t lend itself to a permanent return to retirement. In the meantime, however, she hopes to properly and wholly return to her lifelong passion for art. Having identified as an “art kid” in high school and obtained a degree in art education, she always identified as an artist but never felt as if she truly mastered any particular medium. An art education degree involves a semester each for everything from sculpture to charcoal, so Walker felt as if she left some potential untapped and an artistic identity undeveloped.
“Art has always been at my heart and soul, and I’ve always said that when I retire, that’s when I’m going to go back to my art.”
This past September, she enrolled in a drawing class and was left surprised at how much there was left to learn, even after studying art all throughout college. She initially began attending workshops in May but quit a few times throughout the summer due to feelings of profound inadequacy.
“Art was a part of my identity, and then I went to this class and found out I suck. I thought I was really bad, and my ego took a huge dip. I went home thinking ‘I’m going to quit; I can’t do this. Who was I to think I was an artist?’ But then I got myself together, and when I did, my teacher said, ‘I knew you’d be back… I gave you such a hard project to get you to see what you didn’t see.’”
Since then, she has reignited her desire to consistently improve, remembering her high school art teacher whom she’d once asked, “How did you get so good?” to which he responded, “You have to do it everyday.” Hence, Walker has since begun the process of creating an at-home art studio, planned a trip to Ireland in July with her art class and recently finished the “best drawing she’s ever done” in her entire life.
Her final goodbye to East is a bittersweet farewell to 25 years of memories. As East’s first female principal, she hopes she “brought a sense of warmth [and] a connection to parents on a maternal level,” leaving with the assurance that her successors will bring long-term leadership and stability to the community.
Cherry Hill High School East has weathered a storm of administrative turnover in recent years, leaving students and faculty yearning for consistency. Into this landscape steps Dr. Neil Burti, assuming the role of interim principal following Mrs. Leslie Walker’s departure. Burti aims to provide steady leadership while guiding East through the remainder of the academic year and preparing for Dr. John Cafagna, East’s incoming permanent principal, to take over on July 1.
Burti’s career in Cherry Hill schools spans elementary, middle and high school leadership, including six years as principal of the district’s Alternative High School — now referred to as the Coles Program — where he was mentored by two veteran administrators and developed a strong foundation in supporting diverse student needs. After overseeing Bret Harte Elementary School, Burti assumed leadership of John A. Carusi Middle School, where he seamlessly guided students back to in-person learning following the COVID-19 pandemic. The culmination of his leadership in these roles has earned him recognition as Visionary Secondary Principal of the Year from the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and as Principal of the Year from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Currently, Burti also serves as the district’s director of secondary education — a role he will balance alongside his new responsibilities at East. He emphasized that his priority would remain with East, though, with his district duties acting as a supporting role.
“East is my primary focus,” Burti said. “When I balance it with district responsibilities, those come second. Superintendent Dr. Morton has been very supportive, and my goal is to be present here, working with kids, faculty, staff and administrators at East.”
From the outset of his tenure as interim principal, Burti has expressed genuine excitement about stepping into the position by drawing on his years of experience in the Cherry Hill district. As a student-centric principal, he emphasized the dynamic rhythm of the spring semester, filled with sports playoffs, DECA competitions, the senior trip, a Model United Nations conference, Cum Laude Society inductions, prom, graduation and everything in between.
Combating prior instability, Burti hopes to prioritize visibility and a steadfast presence throughout the building rather than altering policies. During his first week at East, each morning, he has stood outside the student entrance to greet students as they arrive. Even if a student approaches with their head down, Burti makes it his personal goal to help them start their day on a positive note through a warm welcome. He regards his daily interactions in the hallways, cafeterias and outside the student entrance as essential to cultivating a steady, approachable presence that molds East’s culture.
“You’re going to see me at drop-off, in the cafeterias, in the hallways and at sporting events,” said Burti. “The most important job you have is visibility and presence. Smiling at kids as they walk into the building, saying good morning and passing people in the hallway — that builds trust.”
As interim principal, Burti’s immediate goal, therefore, is to provide stability while maintaining the continuity and focus necessary for students to finish the year strong. His presence, combined with years of district experience, positions him to support the school and administration during this transition.
Once Burti’s tenure as interim concludes, Cafagna will take over as East’s permanent principal. As director of secondary education, Burti played an integral role in the permanent principal selection process, which began with district screening followed by scenario-based evaluations to test candidates’ problem-solving and decision-making on situations specific to East.
After narrowing the field to two finalists, the district gleaned input from multiple stakeholders. Student committees — drawn from culture clubs, athletes and the Student Government Association — met with the finalists, in addition to two separate East faculty and PTA panels. Each group followed a scripted set of questions and submitted feedback through an online platform. Interestingly, panelists could submit unlimited comments on this platform, which posed the potential to skew results but also provided an opportunity to leave additional reflections after meeting both finalists. Considering the stakeholder feedback, Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton conducted final interviews — for which Burti was present — and ultimately selected Cafagna to serve as East’s permanent principal.
“Dr. Cafagna brings stability at a time when it’s needed most,” Burti said. “He knows the kids, understands the culture and has a proven track record. I’ve seen firsthand how compassionate, student-centered and thoughtful he is in every role he takes on, making him the right choice for East.”
Despite observing the recent administrative turnover at East, the district stuck with this selection process, and Burti expressed confidence in its reliability.
“There’s been turnover at East, and that can shake a community,” said Burti. “But I’d like to believe the process is not flawed. We aimed to get the best candidate for the school, and I think we did.”
In the meantime, Burti will continue to lead East, focusing on making the final months of the school year productive and positive for students and faculty alike.
“My job is to bridge the gap between Mrs. Walker and Dr. Cafagna, to make sure students have an amazing end to the school year and to leave the building in good hands,” Burti said.
To gain insight into the changes within East administration, Eastside interviewed Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton, covering Dr. John Cafagna’s appointment as principal, Interim Principal Mrs. Leslie Walker’s resignation, and Dr. Neil Burti’s appointment as the new interim principal. Here are some highlights from our discussion with him.
Q: Could just tell me a little bit about Dr. Cafagna and his role within the district so far? Why do you feel confident in him?
A: Dr. Cafagna and I have known each other now for almost 18 years and we’ve been professional colleagues through a number of iterations, including co-elementary principals. When he first began at Bret Hart Elementary, I was principal of Kilmer. Then, when I went to High School West to become the principal, he moved to Carusi Middle School to become the principal there. … He went from Carusi to Horace Mann, where he was a very successful principal for a number of years, and then ultimately to Rosa, where he is now. I think this is his 27th year in the district. He’s also been the principal of the Coles alternative program. Very few people know that he was an assistant principal at Rosa as well, as well as a coach in the district. Also, for those that know him, he is a student-centered person.
As I thought about the needs of East and went through the process of interviewing the candidates, clearly and quite honestly, his past history, my great awareness of him, his ability to connect with kids and to provide kids with voice, his love for children, his ability to problem solve, his ability to bring communities of people together, and the ability to work well with his faculty, are definitely all factors that went into the decision. I believe that he is exactly what East needs. I am definitely cognizant of all that [East has] had to go through in this past year or so as it relates to leadership. … So as we think about where students are and how to best address their needs, I think that sums up the primary aspect that … I received from the East community when I asked for the characteristics sought in the new principal. The number one thing that people said they wanted was somebody who wanted to be with the East community, someone who wants to be here, wants to be a part of the community, wants to work with us, and wants to do so moving forward for years to come. And that’s Dr. Cafagna.
Q: What was the district’s process in appointing Cafagna? Could you describe the stages of appointing him?
A: It begins with an administrative process of reviewing applicant applications. Ultimately, I think there were [over] 40 applications in total. I believe slightly under 20 people were called in and interviewed for first round interviews. The [first interview] team was composed of district staff members, representative of all different departments and teachers and faculty from [East] as well. … I believe it was something within the range of six to seven people or so that the team was very serious about and believed these individuals could potentially do the job.
From there, the team recommended two finalists to me. Now, traditionally, in the past, once finalists were recommended, the superintendent would just interview those finalists and then make a decision about who that person would be. The additional piece that I wanted to add was to have the individuals go to the schools and have a chance to interact with the school communities, and that would allow students to have a voice and that would allow staff to have a part of the process. So, Dr. Cafagna and the other candidate spent the day at the school interacting with students, staff, and families. We created a ThoughtExchange, which is a survey to allow families to provide perspective.
Then, from there, each of the candidates then had a final interview with me. The final interview … is tailored to the history and the needs of East. … I wanted to know not only how an individual would respond to situations that have already occurred, but I attempted to forecast and predict things that might occur, and just ultimately, how the individual would respond. I think that is critically important for the East community, that whoever comes in and leaves that building is able to lead the building through positive collaboration with students.
I was very happy with both of the finalists. I thought they were very strong. But … we want somebody who understands us and wants to be here with us as we move forward throughout the future. Again, my past understanding of who Dr. Cafagna is, and that belief in who you’ll be moving forward [with] is what employs the decision.
Q: We’re aware that a number of students were selected to interview the candidates. How are the students selected to be part of it? What did that look like?
A: We left that up to building-based staff that Dr. Burti worked with to help to identify who would be included in those groups. My main directive was just, I want to ensure that there is a wide array of representation on those committees. So in other words, students and staff and parents that represent the comprehensive enrollment of what East is. We don’t want all people just for one content area department. We don’t want only students who are part of student government. [We wanted to make] sure it’s a diverse group of individuals that have an opportunity to provide voice.
Q: To what extent was student input taken into consideration. Were they able to ask questions in the interviews? What did that look like?
A: My understanding was that students would develop questions and [those] questions would be submitted ahead of time. Then, the questions would be able to be asked to allow for answers to be given within the allotted time that was available.
In terms of the exact process within the room, I’m not sure; I wasn’t in the room to take that in. One of the things I did do is I had our director of human resources go over and spend both days there to be a part of that process to make sure things were done that align with labor law and things along those lines.
Q: What factors and considerations went into looking for this principal?
A: I think ultimately, what the community asked for was someone that ultimately wanted to be connected. But then, there’s absolutely other desired characteristics as well: people-person, relationship builder, someone with that administrative experience, someone who understands [the] Cherry Hill public, who understands Cherry Hill Township, and understands the community … someone [who] demonstrated a great track record of working with students effectively.
Q: We were recently informed of Miss Walker’s resignation effective Feb. 27. Do you have any comment on her resignation as Dr. Burti fills her role until Cafagna’s appointment in July?
A: I’m appreciative of Miss Walker. … She had worked in the district in the past, and came out of retirement to provide whatever support that she could provide for the district to help stabilize things and get us to the end of the year. But situations arise and family obligations arise within different people’s lives and their experiences, and we have to respond accordingly. So I’m grateful for the time that she was able to give.
Now, we have another situation where we need to ensure that there’s stability in the building. Let’s try to provide the students, the staff, and family with a familiar face. Dr. Burti is the individual who came to mind. … As the director of secondary education, he oversees … the leadership team there, so he spends a lot of time with [them] anyway. Let’s just have somebody that [is] going to be here, going to carry us through experience as a principal, who knows what we’re trying to accomplish as a district, and who [can] transition us to Dr. Cafagna.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about Dr. Cafagna’s appointment?
A: I’m most looking forward to [East] having a principal and builder who’s going to be there for years to come. I’m looking forward to seeing those great connections that he forges with faculty and staff. He’s communicated this great vision about one East and how he plans to take the school and really propel us forward. I believe in him. I believe in East. I’m looking forward to him really jumping head in, into the community, and really helping to make it all that it is and [all] that it can be.