Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning Announce Derry Township Location for its Central Office
Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning (CHS) has announced plans to house its central administrative office at 1840 Fishburn Road in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The CHS Central Office will eventually include up to 20 positions working from this Derry Township location, including an Executive Director to help lead and implement the initiative’s strategic vision.
In addition to currently searching for its first Executive Director, CHS is hiring other key Central Office positions such as Project Coordinator, Communications/Marketing Manager and Administrative Assistant, with more to be announced in the coming months.
CHS is named in honor of Catherine “Kitty” Hershey, the visionary educational philanthropist and co-founder of Milton Hershey School. The building that is slated to open this spring as the CHS Central Office has a historical connection to MHS. Up until 1999, it served MHS students as student home Ridgeway. It first opened in 1966 and was home to 16 high school senior boys.
“Derry Township is the obvious choice for the location of our CHS Central Office and we’re pleased that the location has a strong tie to Milton Hershey School history,” said Pete G. Gurt ’85, President, Milton Hershey School and Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning. “We are eager to hire for these important new positions as our expansion into early childhood education becomes a reality.”
CHS is a $350 million initiative to fund and develop up to six cost-free Early Childhood Resource Centers (ECRCs) in Pennsylvania for children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds. At the ECRCs, CHS will provide a core early learning program with a curriculum designed to enhance students’ educational, social, emotional and cognitive development. It will also provide students with nutritious meals, transportation, and other needed supplies, and will offer integrated support services to families of enrolled children.
The first ECRC, which will be located on the MHS campus in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be completed in 2023. CHS plans to have up to 80 employees and volunteers at its first ECRC and serve 150 local area children. The second ECRC is scheduled to open in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 2024. The locations of other ECRCs will be determined by the School’s Board of Managers based on further research and community input.
Additional career opportunities will be announced in the coming months with open positions posted on the Careers section of Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning’s website, chslearn.org.