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A Life-Changing Education: Career-Focused Education at Milton Hershey School

By Tara Valoczki, Sr. Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Tara Valoczki headshot

At Milton Hershey School, our Career-Focused Education programming helps students build a future beyond their imagination. Our Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment team equips students with the skills, knowledge, and character they need to break the cycle of poverty, earn life-sustaining wages, and pursue fulfilling careers. Through unique programming and cross-discipline collaboration, we aim to offer a life-changing education that addresses the ever-changing demands of the 21st century.

Our founder, Milton S. Hershey, was ahead of his time. In 1924, he said, “Most of all, [students] should know how to make a living in some definite, skilled way—a trade or well-defined occupation.” Since our founding on Nov. 15, 1909, MHS students have learned by doing. In 1934, Mr. Hershey wasn’t afraid to innovate when planning the Junior-Senior High School. He established a vocational program that included state-of-the-art carpentry, auto mechanics, electrical, sheet metal, and printing shops.

Career-Focused Education from Elementary to High School

Today, our Career-Focused Education curriculum continues to evolve and expand to serve the needs of our students. Career exposures begin as early as elementary school, where students learn about different jobs in the classroom and through special programs like Career Mondays. These after-school lessons are led by professionals on our campus and at local businesses in the Hershey community. From learning about budgeting and accounting from the MHS Finance team to seeing engineering in action at Hersheypark, our youngest learners begin making connections to formulate answers to the age-old question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

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In middle school, students explore their passions further through classes centered on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math. Our curriculum supervisors—each assigned to one core subject—work with teachers and instructional advisors at every grade level to build lesson plans that align with industry and educational standards. For example, when Pennsylvania schools overhauled their science curriculum, our science curriculum supervisor collaborated across disciplines, like our Agricultural and Environmental Education program, to further our offerings and focus on hands-on learning. It took our students out of the classroom and into one of four learning centers to explore animal science, environmental science, and more. But our efforts go beyond science classes; they’re about investigating how all the other courses can play a role in helping students be successful. This approach works as MHS students continue raising the bar with improved science standardized test scores in grades 5 and 8.

By high school, MHS students are fully immersed in our Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, where they gain valuable skills and certifications in their chosen fields through tailor-made instruction and hands-on learning. However, this work extends beyond the classroom, providing real-world opportunities for students to practice their skills through internships, co-ops, and pre-apprenticeships. Our recent program successes include:

  • Nearly 250 students completed an internship, co-op, or pre-apprenticeship with one of our Hershey community partners.
  • We dedicated a state-of-the-art facility, the Michael Weller Trades Center, where students can practice in-demand trades, such as welding and carpentry.
  • All recent graduates earned at least one state- or nationally-recognized certification or credential of value.
  • We enhanced our course offerings to include fundamentals of drone technology and cybersecurity while expanding automotive and welding courses.
  • In collaboration with Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R), we launched a dedicated part-time work program for students ages 14 or older. This new initiative resulted in more than 150 students gaining valuable skills for employment success.
  • During the summer of 2024, 121 MHS students interned at organizations such as The Hershey Company, Hershey Trust Company, HE&R, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning.
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Unique Programs to Support Learning and Build Employability Skills

Our Career-Focused Education is further enhanced through programs that expand on what students are learning and teach them valuable soft skills. We’re creating a healthy balance between academic career-focused education and character development. I firmly believe you will not find that at any other school—it’s what makes MHS unique.

Year-Round Experiences

Our Year-Round Experiences program is an excellent example of how Career-Focused Education begins at an early age. The program provides fun and educational activities for students on campus during holiday breaks and the summer. But it’s not your traditional classroom experience. We’re crafting opportunities through experiential learning. For example, over the summer of 2024, 32 students were immersed in a Domestic Service Learning Experience in Floyd County, Kentucky.

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International Learning Experiences

Those learning experiences cross into different countries through our International Learning Experiences program. Through this high school study abroad offering, students and adult chaperones take two trips each school year with about 25 high school students on each tour. We expose our students to other cultures and ways of life through these opportunities. They are learning about historical sites, participating in educational conferences with peers worldwide, and gaining employability skills centered around human connection—such as building relationships, finding common ground, speaking a different language, and being well-informed travelers.

Social and Emotional Learning

Speaking of employability skills, our Social and Emotional Learning curriculum, The Compass Project, is provided through our Home Life program. These lessons, taught by our houseparents, help our students discover their values and build a strong foundation rooted in character and leadership. We also find ways to bring these lessons into academic buildings. Our teachers and principals receive and reinforce these weekly lessons in classrooms, holding our students accountable. This character development is instrumental in adhering to the values and ideals our founders set in 1909.

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Thanks to the generosity and foresight of our founders, Milton and Catherine Hershey, we continue to create life-changing opportunities for Milton Hershey School students and graduates. Through innovative and collaborative curriculum design, an emphasis on hands-on learning and real-world experiences, and strong character development, we’re empowering the next generation of leaders to defy the odds and positively impact their lives and the world.


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Interested in learning more about Milton Hershey School?

Milton Hershey School does not discriminate in admissions or other programs and services on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religious creed or disability. Read important MHS policies on equal opportunity and diversity, equal employment opportunity, and more.