Milton Hershey School, Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning Preparing Students for Careers in Education

Milton Hershey School and Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning are teaming up to train the next generation of educators.

Eleven students enrolled in the MHS Career and Technical Education program’s Education and Human Services pathway are earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential. The nationally recognized milestone demonstrates an individual’s early childhood education skills and knowledge.

The program requires students to complete 120 hours of coursework and 480 hours of working with children. Thanks to the MHS on-campus pre-K program and the school’s relationship with CHS, the students will complete the certificate before they graduate high school.

Career-Focused Education is one of the pillars of an MHS education. Students are also encouraged to give back to their community. Two years ago, a day of service activity helped current eleventh grader Sophia Bradley discover her passion for molding young minds when she was assigned to volunteer in the kindergarten classroom.

“I knew that day it was what I wanted to do with my life,” Bradley said.

Yasmeen Garduno, an MHS junior, said the internship at CHS has taught her the importance of recognizing every student’s unique traits.

“I cannot judge them as a group; they are all individuals,” she said.

Bradley, Garduno, and their peers spend two hours every school day at either CHS Hershey, CHS Harrisburg, or Memorial Hall. During CHS’s third annual Early Childhood Education (ECE) Leadership Conference at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center on Feb. 26, CHS Executive Director Senate Alexander ’06 recognized their work in front of nearly 500 CHS staff, local ECE program leaders and teachers, K-12 leaders, college educators, social workers, and nonprofit leaders.

“As you can see, this is a motivated and passionate group of individuals,” Alexander said. “Developing the future of the ECE workforce is critical to the profession’s stability.”

Two weeks after being recognized by Alexander, Bradley, along with Kiani Jackson and China McCrory, were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. The students qualified for the recognition by maintaining academic excellence, leadership, good character, a 3.5 overall grade point average, and a 3.7 grade point average in the technical program. MHS and CHS staff attended the induction ceremony to celebrate the students’ success.

Education and Human Services is one of several MHS Career and Technical Education program pathways that prepare students for college or a career. The program combines tailor-made instruction and hands-on learning with the ability to gain certifications and real-life experience through internships, co-ops, and pre-apprenticeships.