CTE and Chocolate

From Aug 2010 archived post
by Amber O'Casey

Recently, I read an inspirational article about the irresistible topic of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and chocolate. A CTE Legacy Built on Chocolate: Milton Hershey School’s 100 Years is a biographical history by Robert Kemmery the director of CTE and transition services of the Milton Hershey School (MHS) in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here is a synopsis of the story. Enjoy!

Milton Hershey, the chocolate baron and his wife, Catherine, had no children and wanted to help children without families. They created the Hershey Industrial School, now MHS, in 1909 by signing the deed and leaving their fortune to it. The school began as a home and school for four orphaned boys.

Now, 100 years later, the school is the largest of its kind in the world. It provides many free services for children from disadvantaged backgrounds: housing, food, dental and medical care are just a few. Beyond the basics, it provides for the students academic needs. All students participate in college preparatory classes and the CTE program.

Over the years, the program has evolved with the needs of society. MHS began as a vocational school focused on agriculture. It has expanded to include four schools (Business and Service, Communications and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, and Health, Agriculture and Sciences) with eleven career pathways.

What started as a small school for orphans is now a burgeoning center with over 8,000 alumni. Reflecting on this, I can imagine the Hershey’s amazement at the sustained impact their gift has had on the lives of thousands of disadvantaged children and the children’s impact on society as a whole. Somehow, chocolate just became sweeter.

To read the full article visit: http://www.acteonline.org/tech_jan10.hershey.html

To learn more about the Milton Hershey School: http://www.mhs-pa.org/

References

• Kemmery, Robert, (January 2010). A CTE Legacy Built on Chocolate: Milton Hershey School’s 100 Years. Techniques Connecting Education and Careers, volume 85, number 1. Retrieved from http://www.acteonline.org/tech_jan10.hershey.html.