Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning: Nurturing Potential from the Earliest Years

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning (CHS) is an initiative focused on providing accessible, high-quality early childhood education and care in Pennsylvania. Addressing a critical and growing need, CHS aims to nurture, educate, and empower children and families facing social and financial challenges, enabling them to lead fulfilling and productive lives. This comprehensive approach extends beyond the classroom, encompassing family support and community engagement to create a holistic environment for growth and development.

A Comprehensive Approach to Early Childhood Education

CHS provides year-round, weekday education and care for children aged six weeks to 5 years. The program is designed to deliver a whole-child and family success approach, helping children thrive both in the classroom and at home. Recognizing that literacy begins long before kindergarten, CHS emphasizes early learning and development.

The Family Success Advocate (FSA) Model

Each enrolled family at CHS benefits from a dedicated Family Success Advocate (FSA). The FSA supports families through home visiting, workshops, and goal setting, connecting them to resources and education that aid in their growth. The goal is to create safe, strong, and financially stable homes for the children enrolled at CHS.

Investment in Professional Development

Before each CHS Center opens, all teachers and staff participate in a robust, paid professional development program. This program is informed by the latest research and prepares them to provide children with an exemplary early childhood education experience. CHS extends its commitment to high-quality professional development by providing select training to local programs and providers. Additionally, CHS hosts an annual cost-free professional development event, the CHS ECE Leaders' Summit, for all CHS staff and local child and family serving professionals. The summit's registration reached capacity one month before the 4th annual event.

Expansion and Locations

CHS is a $350 million initiative to develop six Early Childhood Education Centers (ECECs) in Pennsylvania as subsidiaries of Milton Hershey School (MHS). The CHS model was developed by leveraging Milton Hershey School’s experience, consulting with early childhood education experts, conducting site visits to exemplary early childhood programs, and performing community needs assessments.

Currently, CHS operates centers in:

Hershey: CHS Hershey is open and serving the community.
Middletown: CHS Middletown is accepting applications for children who will be six weeks to 3 years old for the 2026-27 school year.
Harrisburg: CHS Harrisburg, anticipated to open soon, marked its groundbreaking with a community celebration. The Harrisburg location will serve 150 children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds, with all costs covered.
Lancaster County: Beginning in 2026, CHS will expand into Lancaster County with locations in Lancaster City, New Danville, and Elizabethtown. CHS New Danville is accepting applications for children who will be six weeks to 4 years old for the 2026-27 school year.

Cost-Free Education

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning provides a cost-free educational, social, and cognitive program to children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds, through the development of Early Childhood Resource Centers across Pennsylvania. Qualifying families receive comprehensive support, ensuring that all costs are covered.

Independent Operation and Connection to Milton Hershey School

CHS Centers are subsidiaries of Milton Hershey School and are staffed and operated independently of the Milton Hershey School core model. Milton Hershey School is a private school where qualifying students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade live on campus and receive an exceptional educational experience-with all costs covered.

Research and Evaluation

CHS has partnered with SRI’s Education Division, a nonprofit research institute, to conduct a longitudinal, mixed-methods evaluation. This evaluation aims to understand the short-, mid-, and long-term effects of attending the CHS program on children, families, and communities. The studies also examine how, why, and for whom such programs are most effective. SRI is collecting direct assessments, parent reports, and teacher reports from up to 1,000 children and families attending CHS and a matched comparison group of up to 1,000 children and families. SRI researchers plan to leverage longitudinal extant data sources to examine relevant outcomes among CHS communities compared to a “synthetic” comparison community. The implementation study examines the factors that facilitate or inhibit the successful delivery of the CHS model, with a focus on policies, access, equity, and quality. The child and family outcomes study uses a quasi-experimental design to examine the short-, mid-, and long-term effects of CHS on children and their families. Finally, the community outcomes study uses a quasi-experimental design to examine the extent to which the effects of CHS spread beyond child and family participants to the communities where CHS centers are located. CHS looks forward to sharing outcomes with the broader ECE community.

Employment Opportunities

The expansion of CHS into various locations opens opportunities for employment among the local workforce. For example, the Harrisburg Center is expected to have up to 80 employees. Interested individuals can explore career opportunities and apply at www.chslearn.org/careers.

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Community Impact

CHS is committed to serving children and families in their home communities. The program provides high-quality early childhood education, whole child care, and family support. By addressing the needs of under-resourced and overburdened families, CHS aims to make a significant positive impact on the lives of children, their families, and the broader community.

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