Now you can follow the police

While checking friends’ status updates, Cherry Hill residents can now swing over to the police department’s official Facebook page and see crime and safety updates in their neighborhoods.

The Cherry Hill Police Department launched its own Facebook page last week in an effort to increase communication and provide updates to Cherry Hill residents on an up-to-the minute basis.

“We’re doing this to meet the needs of getting information out in a timely manner to our residents. It seems like social media is here to stay so we want to take advantage,” Officer William Kushina said. “People can sign up for alerts, and they can be immediately notified of something that impacts them, their home, and their neighborhood. It gives us a way to get timely information out to the Cherry Hill public.”

The free Facebook page will serve the purpose that Nixle does for several communities in the state. Nixle allows residents to receive up-to-the-minute information where one lives, works or visits. Registered residents receive real-time information from the township via the Nixle system.

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Web of information

Need information on school closings? How about an explanation of the new student activities fee? If you need up-to-date information the best place to go is the Cherry Hill Public Schools Web site.

Visitors to the district Web site are presented with a list of recent school and district-wide happenings that are compiled in an “e-newsletter” and displayed on the homepage. The newest items appear on the top of the e-newsletter. This is where parents will find information on school closings and any other newsworthy items. Now, community members can give their input on a new superintendent, read 2010-11 school budget information and even make a suggestion to help the district save money in upcoming years.

To the left hand side of the homepage, visitors can access links to information, events and announcements specific and unique to each school. There are links to information about district curriculum, assistance and assessment including a curriculum overview, information about standards and benchmarks for each grade and subject and teacher evaluation forms. There’s also a link to an eBoard for almost every math class in the district.

Further down the homepage, news and information is broken down by categories. Links lead visitors to a community question-and-answer forum where district officials answer questions from parents, students and community members about what’s going on in the district. There’s also a district map, information about polling places, and a district calendar detailing important dates and events. Here, visitors will also find details about policies and procedures and information about the district’s TV station.

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