CHS New Danville team completes practicums, nearing opening of first CHS Center in Lancaster

“Seeds to Lead at New Danville has been enlightening,” said Assistant Teacher Alize Marrero. “We did a lot of team bonding, and I feel as if we created a family.”

The team at CHS New Danville, our fourth Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning (CHS) location and the first in Lancaster County, has spent the past several months participating in Seeds to Lead. This is the CHS onboarding and fully paid professional development program.

The program began with a convocation in January marking the start of full-time employment for teachers and staff. It is designed to prepare teams to open a Center grounded in shared values, strong relationships, and best practices in early childhood education.

Preparing for Lancaster County’s first CHS Center

CHS New Danville will open its doors this summer, serving 100 children from the Lampeter-Strasburg, Penn Manor, and Solanco school districts. This increases the total number of children served at CHS locations to 550. Teachers and staff are excited to expand Milton and Catherine Hershey’s legacy, execute the CHS model, and make an impact in the lives of children and families.

“I am most excited about finally meeting the children and families,” Lead Teacher Bethany Dickerson said. “We were able to call and schedule meet the teachers. Talking to the parents gave me a little bit of a glimpse of who we are working with but seeing their faces and getting to sit down with them face to face is so exciting to think about.”

“What I am most excited for is the kids coming and forming those bonds with them while watching them learn and grow at the same time,” said Assistant Teacher Laken Gingrich.

Building skills through Seeds to Lead

Seeds to Lead enables the leadership team and scholastic, family success, health services, and operations professionals integrate into the CHS mission. The program expands on participants’ existing skills and blends coursework in early childhood education foundations, curriculum and assessment, family success, and health and safety.

“My team and I built our relationships on trust, which gives everyone a voice in classroom decisions and makes me feel that I am part of something,” Gingrich noted.

“Learning to work with different types of people can help prepare for working with the different families and children that will come through our doors,” Dickerson said. “It gives the opportunity to learn new social skills as adults just like we are going to be teaching the children.”

The New Danville team is the first to complete the program within its own building, the former Lancaster Mennonite School New Danville campus that has been reimagined for early childhood education.

Hands-on learning at CHS operating Centers

The team also completed immersive practicums at CHS’s three operating Dauphin County Centers: CHS Hershey, CHS Harrisburg, and CHS Middletown. These practicums allowed staff to shadow experienced educators and support teams, observe CHS systems in action, and apply concepts directly in classrooms serving children from six weeks to age 5.

“I enjoyed my practicum experience and was able to get a lot of informative knowledge from an amazing Lead and Associate Teachers,” Dickerson said. “We were able to bring some new ideas into our classrooms and routines that we did not think of before. I appreciated that we were able to ask as many questions as possible and felt like they wanted to see us succeed as much as we wanted too as well.”

“I learned that consistent routines help the children know what to expect to happen in their day,” Gingrich said.

Collaboration and growth

Like previous CHS teams, the New Danville cohort includes both experienced early childhood professionals and staff members earlier in their careers, creating opportunities for mentorship, fresh ideas, and collaborative problem-solving. Team-building activities throughout the program have focused on creating the trust and communication needed to launch a high-quality learning center together.

“Seeds to Lead has introduced me to what it means to be a professional at an early childhood Center,” Marrero said. “As someone without formal experience, it has taught me how children’s development can be impacted from birth. It has made me feel more confident in being a teacher.”

“Something new I learned is the importance of child-based,” Dickerson said. “I appreciated the intentionality of encouraging the children’s interests and we as educators give the tools and opportunities to the children to explore with hands on learning.”

“I learned about Conscious Discipline,” Gingrich said. “It starts with a calm, regulated adult who helps a child regulate themselves to calm down.”

Looking ahead to opening day

In addition to structured coursework and practicums, the New Danville team had opportunities to explore the history and legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey, participate in professional learning sessions led by CHS specialists and guest speakers, and build team chemistry through collaborative projects and community-oriented activities.

Dickerson stated her favorite part of the experience was being able to learning the history and intent of the legacy created by the Hersheys and having the opportunity to carry that forward. Gingrich’s favorite aspect was building relationships with her team and the excitement of setting up her classroom with her co-teachers.

“I am so excited to make a positive impact and build new relationships with our children and families,” Marrero added. “I cannot wait to witness children and families meet their milestones with joy and confidence. I am ready to incorporate everything I’ve learned when we are officially operational.”

Continued growth

Once operating, CHS encourages, supports, and invests in continued professional development and growth of its staff.

CHS New Danville is excited to open its doors soon and begin serving children and families with months of shared training, practicum experience, and a deep understanding of how to implement the CHS model together.

If you are interested in making a difference at CHS, visit chslearn.org/careers for current opportunities.