Cherry Hill High School East (also known as Cherry Hill East or CHE) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Cherry Hill Public Schools. Cherry Hill East is one of three high schools in the district; the others are Cherry Hill High School West and Cherry Hill Alternative High School. As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,087 students and 142.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.7:1. There were 184 students (8.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 47 (2.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

History

Due to delays in the construction of the new school building, the entering class of 450 students at Cherry Hill East began the 1966–67 school year attending split sessions at the original Cherry Hill High School building. Constructed at a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $ million in ), the school building opened in January 1967 as the township's second high school facility. What then became known as Cherry Hill High School West was the first public high school in Cherry Hill. The first class graduated in June 1970, having started their freshman year in the Fall of 1966 in the West building doing split sessions until the East building was ready for occupancy in January 1967. The class of 1970 was the only class in the new building until the class of 1971 arrived in Fall 1967. By Fall 1969, the building housed all four grades.

Social activism

Student demonstrations for school security

On February 26, 2018, in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas high school shooting and the March for Our Lives Movement, student leaders staged an auditorium protest against the suspension of a popular history teacher after the teacher claimed that a school shooting was imminent at Cherry Hill East, stating "I have the gun". The following day, hundreds of students staged a school walkout. They walked through the school's sidewalks and 17 laps around the track field in honor of the 17 victims of the Stoneman Douglas shooting. The walkout lasted around an hour before students returned to class. A petition urging the teacher's reinstatement was signed by 500 students. During a school board meeting with Cherry Hill Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Meloche that night, frustrated parents and students voiced their grievances about the school's security and the teacher's suspension.

Student advocacy for mandatory African-American history course

A group of East students from the Cherry Hill East African American Culture Club advocated for a mandatory African American history course in order to graduate. After impassioned speeches by student activists from a variety of backgrounds at a virtual board meeting for Cherry Hill Public Schools in February 2021, the board voted 8–0 to make the course a requirement for graduation. This mandate, the first of its kind in the state, has been in effect since the 2021–2022 school year course.

Awards, recognition and rankings

For the 2001–02 school year, Cherry Hill High School East received the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. In 2015, Newsweek ranked Cherry Hill High School East the 85th best high school in the nation out of 22,000 schools. In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 354th in the nation among participating public high schools and 29th among schools in New Jersey. In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 65th in New Jersey and 1,833rd nationwide. The school was ranked 1,664th nationwide, the 66th-highest in New Jersey, in Newsweek magazine's 2010 rankings of America's Best High Schools. In Newsweek's 2007 edition of "America's Top Public High Schools" ranked Cherry Hill High School East in 1,258th place, the 38th-highest ranked school in New Jersey. The school was the 40th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 98th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 57th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 61st in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 42nd in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which included 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 36th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (93.3%) and language arts literacy (98.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). Cherry Hill High School East won the 1998 National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The American Scholastic Press Association named Cherry Hill High School East's newspaper Eastside number one in the country in 2005, 2017, and 2019, and number one in the state from 2007 to 2019. In 2023, the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), which honors top scholastic journalism, awarded the Eastside staff with various accolades: Second Place for Multimedia Feature Story, Fifth Place for Multimedia Sports Story, and Honorable mention for Multimedia News Story. Additionally, in 2022, NSPA awarded Eastside an Online Pacemaker, the preeminent recognition given by the association. In 2009, the team representing Cherry Hill High School East produced a documentary that placed nationally in the Senior Group Documentary division of the National History Day competition in College Park, Maryland. In 2021, a team of 3 students from Cherry Hill High School East was recognized for their app "Apollo" in the Congressional App Challenge.

Grade-fixing scandal

In 2007, the school received coverage for a grade-fixing incident after two students were found to have used a teacher's password to hack into the board of education's database and change at least six other students' grades. In September 2006, during a routine check, the school became aware of the changes and began an investigation with the police. In January 2007, two students were arrested for the crime and charged with third degree computer theft. One was a freshman at Drexel University while the other was still a senior at East. The students received probation after pleading guilty. Four more students were disciplined by the school for paying the two hackers to change their grades.

2018 STOPit school shooting threats

In 2018, in the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, the school district had adopted the STOPit app to enable students to report safety concerns to guidance counselors and school administrators. On September 7, 2018, an incident was reported on STOPit about a student who had made remarks about plotting a school shooting at Cherry Hill East. This report had included details about this particular student's remarks in person and on social media, discussing potential targets, and this person's alleged goals to kill as many students as possible and to make national headlines. A "shelter-in-place" was called because the student allegedly making these threats could not be located. The student was located and questioned by the police. This student convinced school officials and the police they never made threats against Cherry Hill East and identified a possible suspect. The suspect sparred evenly with questioning by school officials, but eventually confessed. Assistant Principal Louis C. Papa called this "a criminal act" and stated that appropriate actions were taken by the school district and the police against this student.

Robotics

The Cherry Hill High School East Robotics club is one of the top programs in the state, consistently sending at least one team to the Vex Robotics World Championship since 2009. The teams have received numerous awards and acknowledgements both within the state and the world. The school has hosted the New Jersey state championship, at which the 2616B team has won the New Jersey state championship for the last three years. The 2616F team (Frightening Lightning) qualified for the World Championship in their rookie year (2013) and won the Teamwork award there. In the 2014 season they won multiple awards and competed at the World Championship again, along with 2616B and 2616D.

Athletics

The Cherry Hill High School East Cougars compete in the Olympic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, and is overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 1,649 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the Classic Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,333 to 2,324 students.

Baseball

The varsity boys' baseball team won the 2014 Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They also won the 1986 and 1998 Olympic Conference Championship. In 2019, the team won the Olympic Conference American Division title and reached the South Jersey, Group 4 sectional final and won the South Jersey Group IV Title in 1998.

Cross country

The varsity boys' cross country team won the South Jersey Group IV boys' NJSIAA sectional championships in 2013 and 2014. They won their first ever state Group IV boys' NJSIAA championship in 2014.

Basketball

East basketball teams are consistently ranked in the Top Ten in South Jersey. The team won its first ever South Jersey Group IV boys' NJSIAA championship in 2014, defeating Cherokee High School by a score of 54–41. They retained their South Jersey Group IV title in 2015 with a 48–39 win against Cherokee High School in double overtime. The team is coached by David Allen.

Field hockey

In 1971, the field hockey team won the initial South I sectional championship.

Football

The Cougars used to play their home games at the township stadium, Jonas C. Morris Stadium, which they shared with Cherry Hill High School West, however the team now plays its home games at Cherry Hill East. Annually, the Cougars face cross town rival Cherry Hill West on the night before Thanksgiving, a rivalry described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as "one of the best in South Jersey", in which the winner of the contest receives the Al DiBart Memorial Trophy, also known as "The Boot." In the most recent meeting between the two teams, the Cherry Hill West Lions defeated the Cougars 19–7. Cherry Hill West leads the series 36–15. The Cougars have not won "The Boot" in seven years, last beating West in 2012. The 1988 football team finished the season with a record of 11-0 after winning the South Jersey Group IV state sectional title by defeating Brick Township High School by a score of 36–14 in the championship game.

Volleyball

The girls' volleyball team won its first New Jersey Group IV state championship in 2005, defeating Hunterdon Central Regional High School in the final game of the playoff tournament. The boys' volleyball team won New Jersey Group IV state championships in 1996 (vs. Fair Lawn High School), 1997 (vs. West New York Memorial High School) and 1998 (vs. East Brunswick High School). The 1996 team ran their record to 22-0 after defeating defending-champion Fair Lawn in three games (16-14, 11-15 and 15–10) in the finals to win the Group III tournament. The 1998 team finished the season at 21-2 after defeating East Brunswick in two games (15–5 and 15–9) in the finals.

Tennis

The girls tennis team won the South state championship in 1973 and 1975. The team won the Group IV state championship in 1982 (vs. Ridgewood High School in the final match of the tournament), 1983, 1989 (vs. Marlboro High School), 1995 (vs. Middletown High School South), 1997 (vs. Hillsborough High School), 2001 (vs. Livingston High School), 2002 (vs. Watchung Hills Regional High School), 2003 (vs. Bridgewater-Raritan High School) and 2004 (vs. Marlboro HS). The team won the 2003 Tournament of Champions, defeating runner-up Montclair Kimberley Academy. The team's 9 group titles are the sixth-most of any school in the state In 2007, the girls' tennis team won the South Jersey, Group IV state sectional championship with a 4–1 win over Washington Township High School in the tournament final. In 2016, the girls' team repeated as South Jersey, Group IV state sectional champion with a 5–0 win over Egg Harbor Township High School. The boys tennis team won the Group IV state championship in 1979 (defeating Ridgewood High School in the finals), 1980 (vs. Ridgewood), 1983 (vs. Ridgewood), 1990 (vs. East Brunswick High School), 1991 (vs. East Brunswick), 1993 (vs. Livingston High School), 1994 (vs. Bridgewater-Raritan High School) and 1995 (vs. Westfield High School). The team won the 1991 public school state championship against Haddonfield Memorial High School and then the overall state title, defeating Christian Brothers Academy in the public vs. non-public finals. The program's nine state titles are tied for tenth-most in the state. The team won the public school title in 1979 and ran their season record to 22–0 with a 3–2 win against Glen Ridge High School in the finals played at Princeton University's Jadwin Gymnasium. The 1980 team won the Group IV title with a 5–0 win against a Ridgewood squad that came into the finals with a 23-match winning streak.

Bowling

The boys' bowling team won the overall state championship in 1979. The team won the Group III title in 2007 and went on to win the sport's first Tournament of Champions.

Ice hockey

Cherry Hill High School East has a separate club ice hockey team as a member of the South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League. The team won four consecutive Varsity-Tier II championships in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Swimming

The boys swim team won the public school state championship in 1971, 1972 and 1973, won the Division A title in 1974 and 1976–1979, won the Public A title in 2002, 2015, 2017 and 2019; the 14 state titles are tied for sixth most in the state. The girls team won the Division A title in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1997, 1998 and 1999; the ten state titles are the third-most in the state. As of 2019, the boys' team has had 11 consecutive Central and South Jersey Group A sectional title wins, eight state Group A championship appearances and three state championship wins. In 2015, the Cougars won their first state title in 13 years. In 2016, East would again lose to Westfield. In the 2017 championship, a rivalry was reborn between East and Bridgewater-Raritan High School. Their first bout led to East winning its second state title in three years. In the 2018 championship, the Cougars were bested by a strong Bridgewater-Raritan team. The two teams faced off again in the 2019 state championship, where East won the match-up. This was the team's third state title in five years.

Track and field

Cherry Hill East had not had a winning season in almost 30 years until the team of 2009–10 finished their season 3–2. In 2012, the boys' spring track team went undefeated and won the Group IV title, Olympic Conference title, and New Jersey state title. They went on to win conference champs again in the 2014 and 2015 outdoor seasons.

Lacrosse

Cherry Hill East added men's lacrosse to their spring athletics program in 2005. In 2011, they won for the first time the "Lacrosse Head", the trophy given to the team that wins the annual Cherry Hill East vs. Cherry Hill West game.

Clubs, intramural sports, and other extracurriculars

As of the 2022–23 school year, Cherry Hill High School East has more than 100 student led clubs, intramural sports, and other extracurriculars. For example, Cherry Hill High School East has a Book Club, Chemistry Club, Paranormal Club, Culinary Club, Crochet Club, Fashion Club, Frisbee Club, Interact Club, Hospital Support Club, Photography Club, Reptile Club, and History Club. Cherry Hill High School East also has multiple cultural and linguistic clubs, including American Sign Language Club, African-American Culture Club, the Chinese Student Association, the Jewish Student Union, the French National Honor Society, the Indian Cultural Society, the Latin National Honor Society, Multi-Cultural Day Club, and the Latinos & Amigos Club, among others. Additionally, the school has a number of team-competition based clubs, such as its Robotics Club, World Affairs Council (which includes Model United Nations), Science Olympiad Team, Debate Team, DECA Club, Cheerleading Team, Badminton Team, and Science Olympiad Team. Notably, the Cherry Hill High School East Robotics Club offers one of the top high school robotics programs in the world. In the virtual 2020 VEX Robotics World Championship, one of the Robotics Club's teams, dubbed the "Jersey Devils", proved victorious in the playoffs with their robot 2616J. Some media sources classify the Robotics Club as the best Robotics Club in the state of New Jersey. Cherry Hill High School East's newspaper, Eastside, produces a 24 page monthly publication and has won the New Jersey Distinguished Journalism Award for the past ten years. Eastside's digital counterpart, Eastside Online, was a 2016 National Online Pacemaker Award winner and has won dozens of Best of SNO awards.

Arts

The Cherry Hill East Music Department is award-winning. In 2007, the Cherry Hill East "East Singers" received a Superior Rating and Best Overall Mixed Ensemble from a Boston Choir Competition. The East Choral program consists of seven performing groups: No Longer in East's Music Program The Cherry Hill East Instrumental Department comprises various performing groups: East's past dramatic shows include Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof and, most recently, Legally Blonde. The Cherry Hill East Drama Department perform four shows a year; Lab Theatre, Fall Show, Spring Musical, and the One-Acts Competition.

Administrators

The school's principal is Daniel Finkle, who was previously the principal of Delran High School. His administration team includes multiple assistant principals.

Notable alumni