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Teachers and parents urge board to preserve elementary computer science and world‑language programs amid cuts
Summary
Multiple teachers, union leaders and parents told the board that eliminating elementary computer science or world‑language positions would dismantle years of curriculum and investment; several speakers linked early‑grade instruction to state standards and long‑term student outcomes.
Dozens of teachers, parents and union representatives used second public comment at the Cherry Hill Board meeting to plead with board members not to cut elementary computer science or world‑language positions as part of the budget response.
"A technology‑ready classroom without a technology teacher is just a room," said Jackie Woods, an elementary computer science teacher who has taught in Cherry Hill for 22 years. "You are being asked to destroy what we built together." Woods described district investments in curriculum, professional development and classroom hardware and warned that removing dedicated teachers would make new classrooms functionally empty of the instruction the spaces were designed for.
Eileen Steitle, an elementary computer science teacher with 26 years in the district, framed computer science as foundational, not enrichment: "Computer science in elementary school is not just a typing class. It is the deliberate, structured development of computational thinking" and cited PL 2018, Chapter 81 (New Jersey’s computer science teacher endorsement law) and the state’s computer science plan calling for K–12 standards.
CHEA President Wally Batista urged the board to refrain from framing the crisis as caused by employees’ contracts and benefits, saying competitive salaries and benefits are necessary to retain staff who deliver daily services to students. Several parents and staff asked for a school‑by‑school accounting of the class‑size impact if caps rise and said the community needs clearer transparency before final votes.
Teachers also flagged the disparity with nearby districts: several speakers noted that Haddonfield, Mount Laurel and other South Jersey districts have preserved elementary computer science programs while continuing to control their budgets.
Context: The district is projecting expanded preschool seats this year (about 180 seats added across 12 classrooms) and a number of staff reductions have been proposed. The district’s final budget adoption is scheduled for April 28; the board did not make final program‑cut votes at this meeting.
What was asked of the board: teachers asked the board to (1) preserve elementary computer science and world‑language staff where possible; (2) publish a per‑school impact statement showing how any class‑size increases would be distributed; and (3) pursue alternatives that share burden across administrative and instructional budgets rather than concentrating cuts on classroom teachers.
