The School That Chocolate Built

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A Rich Education

Milton S. Hershey's bounty gives underprivileged students a sweet deal.

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The routine can make for a difficult transition when students go home for breaks. A sixth-grade girl said she stays up all night during school vacation, watching gory slasher movies. Another said her summer break would be filled with custody-battle court visits. Because of issues such as these, the school has shortened summer vacation to six weeks, and students are enticed to stay at school during that time with free outings to Hershey Park, camps and field trips. Older students have the opportunity to earn money through summer jobs and internships. But being away from home -- even a troubled one -- can be hard on both families and children.

Inside the student home Jabesso shared with 10 other elementary school boys, his side of the bedroom was decorated with a Spider-Man poster but no pictures of his family. "I used to have my whole room filled with pictures, but it kept my family on my mind, so I sent them home," he said. "I'm thankful I have all this, but I'm sad because I have to stay away from my family for awhile."

The Yadeto children did spend last summer at home with their family. Jabesso and Obse attended a day camp together in the District, and Mergitu went to work with her mother.

On a steamy day during that break, the family drove to an Ethiopian service at the Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church. The children shared a pew with their grandparents as they listened to Bible readings in Oromo -- a language Jabesso and Mergitu don't understand. The children's grandparents don't speak English, but their bond with the kids was clear. Mergitu jokingly elbowed her grandfather, trying to follow the words of a hymn. Jabesso held his grandmother's hand and rested his head on her shoulder.

Afterward, the family headed to a Silver Spring Ethiopian restaurant, where they scooped up spicy beef and vegetable wot, or stew, with injera, the spongy Ethiopian bread, from a communal plate. The ebullient Shegitu lost a bit of her sparkle when, through mouthfuls of food, Mergitu and Jabesso said they wanted to spend the following summer at school in camp, where the activities offered are a bit more exciting. "I used to call them at the student home all the time," Shegitu, 35, said sadly. "Now Mergitu tells me she doesn't have time to talk."

That strain on family connections is often a reason students leave the school, which has a 10 percent dropout rate. "It's difficult for parents and sponsors to let go of their child," O'Brien said. "Sometimes there's a stigma in the community about sending your child away. It takes courage for parents, grandparents or other sponsors to, in a sense, give up the rearing of a child to another place."

Milton Hershey left his mark all over the town that bears his name. From the iconic towers of the Hershey chocolate factory to the roller coasters at Hershey Park, nearly everything has the stamp of chocolate on it. On the corner of Cocoa and Chocolate avenues, even the street lamps are shaped like Hershey's Kisses. But some locals still don't know much about Milton Hershey's educational legacy.

Hershey and his wife, Catherine, who never had children, founded the school in 1909. Hershey left most of his fortune to the school, which still owns a controlling interest in the chocolate company. Originally established for white orphan boys, who spent much of their time doing heavy farm work, over time the school opened its doors to minorities and girls and to those who had parents but unstable home lives. The student body is now 52 percent female and 54 percent minority.

"We intentionally kept our story under wraps," O'Brien said. But as the school's centennial celebration approaches next year, O'Brien wants to help more children. In the past four years, enrollment has increased by nearly 50 percent, and officials have a goal of attracting 200 additional students. "Our moral requirement is to serve as many children as we can," O'Brien said.

O'Brien, who is retired from a successful career advising CEOs of major companies, was tapped to lead the school after a tumultuous era in the 1990s. During that time, the school's leadership relaxed the low-income requirements and began accepting more middle-class students, moving toward a traditional prep school model. Some alumni were outraged and saw the change as a deviation from Hershey's legacy.

O'Brien, a 1961 school graduate, was one of those leading the criticism. "A lot of boarding schools address the needs of the middle class, but very few are aimed at the neediest and most alone kids," he said. "It felt like the entire intent of Mr. Hershey's mission was being left behind."

Tanned, blue-eyed and balding, with a hearty businessman's handshake, O'Brien is what some around the school affectionately refer to as a "lifer." He arrived at Milton Hershey in 1947 at age 3, along with an older brother, Frankie, who was 5. During a domestic violence incident, their alcoholic father shot and killed their mother while she held Johnny in her arms. O'Brien's father was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.