Skip to content
Search this website:

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning Celebrates “Moving On” Ceremonies in Hershey and Harrisburg

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning (CHS) recently celebrated a major milestone with 86 children “Moving On” to kindergarten from CHS Hershey and CHS Harrisburg. These heartfelt ceremonies honored the growth and achievements of CHS children.

This year was particularly meaningful as CHS Harrisburg held its first Moving On celebration on Friday, August 1, following its opening in September 2024.

CHS Hershey, which hosted its inaugural ceremony last year, celebrated its second on Wednesday, August 6. A total of 54 children from Hershey and 32 children from Harrisburg were recognized, bringing the all-time number of CHS children moving on to kindergarten to 126 since the first CHS location launched in 2023.

For many of these children, CHS was their first formal early childhood education experience, made possible by a program designed to remove barriers to accessing high-quality early childhood education for under-resourced and overburdened families .

CHS serves children from six weeks to age 5 with all costs covered for qualifying families. Through year-round, weekday, non-residential care and education, CHS offers a nurturing environment and a play-based curriculum that supports social, emotional, and cognitive development.

The program’s whole child approach includes services such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy; mental and physical health supports; healthy meals, transportation, and personal care items. In certain cases, CHS also helps families coordinate key elements such as transportation.

CHS embraces a family success model, pairing each family with a dedicated Family Success Advocate. These advocates provide personalized support to help families build strong, safe, and financially stable home environments. Because of this support, the Moving On celebrations are not just a celebration of children, but also of their families.

As children prepare to transition to kindergarten, Family Success Advocates work closely with families to empower them in identifying the right local school and ensuring a smooth transition.

At CHS Hershey, most children will transition to Derry Township, Lower Dauphin, and Palmyra Area School Districts, while in Harrisburg most move on to Harrisburg School District. Across both locations, there are also seven total children transitioning to kindergarten at Milton Hershey School.

These Moving On celebrations brought together families, educators, and staff to reflect on each child’s journey and look ahead to the next chapter.

If you are interested in admissions at CHS, sign up for our admissions news and you’ll be among the first to know when our application is open.

Catherine Hershey Schools

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning are subsidiaries of Milton Hershey School and will be staffed and operated independently of the Milton Hershey School core model.

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

© 2025 Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning