Share
For children living in poverty, dreaming is a luxury they can’t afford. For many, their ability to concentrate on school or future aspirations is overtaken by worry about where their next meal will come from.
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, one in every five children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold. That’s 15 million, or 21 percent of all children in the United States.
The average family income for students enrolled in 2017-18 was $21,356, 15 percent below the federal poverty guideline of $25,100 for a family of four. However, with our school’s commitment to providing a whole child approach to education, including comprehensive health and wellness care, students are overcoming the obstacles poverty has created in their lives and turning their dreams into reality.
MHS is focused on expanding its mission to provide more low-income children with life-changing opportunity than ever before by growing enrollment to 2,300 students. During the 2017-18 school year, enrollment reached 2,067 students, the largest in school history, while maintaining a retention rate of 91 percent. The school also experienced the largest enrollment of elementary and middle school students in our nearly 109 years with 415 elementary students and 712 middle schoolers.
“As a student here, I learned that the act of dreaming is a response to opportunity.”
During his MHS commencement speech, alumnus Kevin Martinez ’16 admitted he gave up dreaming at the age of 8. It took his time at MHS to reassert to him that dreams were indeed accessible through the opportunities at the school. Today, Kevin is studying anthropology and serves as a leader in the Aspiring Minority Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs at Georgetown University where his dreams continue to evolve.
100% of 2012-2018 graduates earned at least 1 industry-recognized certification
95% of 2018 graduates earned at least 3 industry-recognized certifications
89% of 2018 graduates earned at least 4 industry-recognized certifications
37% of 2018 graduates gained authentic work experience through internships, co-ops, or diversified occupations experiences
MHS students consistently exceed statewide averages on PSSA and Keystone exams—not just among other students who are economically disadvantaged, but among all students in Pennsylvania.
Students scoring proficient or above on the PSSA (grades 3-8) and Keystone (high school) exams.
ED – Economically Disadvantaged
Source: Spring 2018 Pennsylvania Keystone
Exams State Content Area Summary Report
In addition to career training, MHS high school students have the opportunity to earn college credits before graduation with college level courses offered through Temple University, Lebanon Valley College, Elizabethtown College, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Carlow University.
What makes Milton Hershey School truly unique is that we provide our students with care and a safe home on campus 365 days a year. Our Year-Round Experiences (YRE) program provides students from at-risk home environments with a nurturing home during breaks coupled with programs and activities where they can explore their interests and build on their classroom learning. During the 2017-18 school year, 59 percent of all students participated in at least one YRE activity. During the summer of 2018, 921 students, or 49 percent, participated in one or more weeks of summer YRE programming.
High school student Lester Huang was accepted and participated in a highly-selective college-level engineering innovation course with Johns Hopkins University. The YRE experience allowed Lester to explore his interest in engineering.
