A walkout in protest of Vice Principal Dr. David Francis-Maurer’s dismissal for the 2025-2026 school year occurred between 9:45 a.m. and 10:27 a.m. on Monday, May 19, at the Cherry Hill High School East football field. Approximately 900 students — along with Principal Mr. Daniel Finkle and Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton — were in attendance.
“I wasn’t exactly sure [if] we prepared for … an entire school to be out here, but I will defend the right for every student to exercise their constitutional rights,” Finkle said.
Led and coordinated by Leah Molavi (‘27), the demonstration was preceded by a change.org petition — currently with 656 signatures — aiming to demonstrate student support for Francis-Maurer’s presence at East. According to Molavi, who subsequently began an Instagram account under the username “dfmupdates” to publicize behavioral guidelines for the event, the walkout was organized and promoted to display the magnitude of student support for Francis-Maurer.
“I moved here only a few years ago, so I didn’t really know anybody when I came here, but [Francis-Maurer] really helped me find my place, and he helped me find ways to get involved. … I just want this to be a way to kind of give back to him,” said Molavi. “The more that we share our story, the better chance we have of him remaining at East.”
Standing on the bleachers with a microphone, Molavi addressed her peers — some of whom created signs that expressed their support for him — reiterating that their walkout must follow the instructions of administrators and remain peaceful. Though the reasoning behind Francis-Maurer’s imminent departure is nebulous and will remain undisclosed to the student body, attendees cited his amiability and ebullient spirit as reasons for his contract to be renewed next year.
“Every morning, he greets me with a smile, he fist bumps everyone on my bus, [and] he says everyone’s names,” Liam Abronski (‘26) said. “It’s kind of crazy because I don’t even know all of their names. … He was [also] put in charge of the Multicultural Day committee this year, [and] it was way better than last year.”
Many students, however, though in passive support of Francis-Maurer through attendance, primarily viewed the walkout as an exemption from class to which they could not be held liable; students sat on the football field and brought balls or games to play with. Still, the efforts to support Francis-Maurer have not gone unnoticed.
Though the walkout has no affiliation with the Cherry Hill Board of Education (BOE) or East’s Student Government Association, students and members of the Cherry Hill community are encouraged to voice their thoughts regarding Francis-Maurer’s departure at the public BOE meeting on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. at 45 Ranoldo Terrace, Cherry Hill, NJ.
Thalia Dain • May 23, 2025 at 4:25 pm
It is unfair that DFM is leaving East. He is such as an amazing person and he really helped me a lot this year.