Talk:Milton Hershey School

Long Edit Summary...

this is a great school go to it:)of vandalism to the previous version which was also vandalized. After that revert, the change was not noticed and beneficial edits were made. I did not know how to revert back to a good version which did not have vandalism in one way or another. For that reason, i went back and took pieces of the article that were beneficial and now the article has much more information. Please look over the history as I could have missed some beneficial information.Blah0401 08:12, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Can it be?

Endowment: $6 Billion? Gridge 21:37, 22 May 2007 (UTC).

The first link on the page talks about funding and the 6 billion can be explained there

Blah0401 06:35, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually that's true. According to a recent New York Times article, Hershey School has the highest endowment of any school in the continental U.S., exceeding that of Exeter and the prestigious schools of New England. That's why this article doesn't do it justice.Tom Cod 05:53, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

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BetacommandBot (talk) 17:21, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

i would like to talk with someone from the school about my grand daughter

   I need a phone number for hershey school, my grand daughter is their and i would like to speak with a staff member  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.81.34.167 (talk) 19:17, 1 October 2009 (UTC) 

Notorious Alumni?

I think Joe Stack should be mentioned. Any comments?Geo8rge (talk) 02:13, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Added Andrew Joseph Stack III to notable alumni. If a Pirates relief pitcher from the fifties deserves note, then a suicide bomber whose Wiki article is longer than the school's itself deserves a spot. Hacbarton 11:39, 23 May 2012

undue weight to scandal

The revised section Controversies covers only about 3 or 4 of the 21 Philadelphia Inquirer articles in their special directory. (I was going to fix some of the outdated content in the above sections using another of the Inquirer's stories, but not going to now!)

If you think this section has undue weight, then move it to a separate article under its own title. The real problem is that the rest of the article is so poor.98.111.146.179 (talk) 08:38, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

wp:undue weight is essentially: "Giving due weight and avoiding giving undue weight means that articles should not give minority views as much of, or as detailed, a description as more widely held views". The scandal additions constituted half of the article. As significantly more takes place then scandals, that large of fraction is undue. One could likely add several times more on robberies and murders that have taken place at MHS. Adding such content detracts from the topic matter. Pennsylvania State University might be a good example of how to treat. Jim1138 (talk) 09:09, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

So why don't you create a separate article pending the expansion of main one?98.111.146.179 (talk) 09:33, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

The article as is invites some one to waste their time correcting outdated content. Will fix to explain situation, and copy text to this page. 98.111.146.179 (talk) 09:51, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

The "controversies" are a catchall for anything remotely connected to the school -- and most of it is tangential at best. Living people are named with allegations, and such mentions must conform absolutely to WP:BLP. IMO, the section below does not belong in the article at all. There are toop many violations of WP:BLP in it for starters, too many tangential claims having essentially nothing to do with the stated topic of the article, etc. Collect (talk) 15:20, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

The School and the School Trust are a single 501(C)(3) entity- a fact in the references relating to the Trust (in the Controversies) which does belong in the begining of the article.

Please point out specifically every supposed violation of WP:BLP. The article should inform both the public and the current MHS community. Every name is notorious in its own right- there is a reason why "sex" triggers the filter bot (incorrectly in this case). Student/teacher sex, and the attitudes of top administrators, is of general concern. (The Sandusky case didn't involve students, but the NCAA thought it relevant anyway.)98.111.146.179 (talk) 16:52, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

READ WP:BLP first. Also WP:SYNTH. Then also finally chew on WP:CONSENSUS. Cheers. Collect (talk) 17:34, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Text of Controversies

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.111.146.179 (talk • contribs)

A different picture...

Oh my, this graduate certainly paints quite a different picture of the present-day school. [1] Gandydancer (talk) 17:11, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Opinion article at best - and possibly usable as such - but not a heck of a lot else. Collect (talk) 21:18, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

External links modified

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• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140220033857/http://www.mhs-pa.org/about/student-body-statistics to http://www.mhs-pa.org/about/student-body-statistics
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Edit Request

Hi, I'm Megan at MHS and I work for the Milton Hershey School. I am requesting these edits to add to the current article.

1. At the end of the History section please add:
   • In 2017, Milton Hershey School received its first accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) for its Campus Security. In 2020, Milton Hershey School received its second CALEA accreditation recognizing the school's Central Monitoring staff for excellence in Public Safety Communications.

 Done -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

1. • Milton Hershey School is an accredited independent school through the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS).

Need a third-party source to add this -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

1. At the end of the School section, I'm requesting one new subsection called Academics with the following information: "In their program called The Compass Project, students learn leadership skills, collaboration skills and character building. In the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for high school students, students can select from 12 career pathways including agriculture, automotive technology, business, construction, culinary arts, computers and more. In 2015, the school launched the Multicultural and Global Education program which enables high school students to travel internationally, focusing on service learning, language, STEM and leadership with the EF Global Leadership Summit."

Mostly  Done with some slight rewrites to align with the information that was given in the sources. Also added a third-party source for The Compass Project. To include the CTE program, you'll need to find a third-party source. -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

1. At the end of the Finance section please add: "Milton Hershey School invested $350 million to fund the development of up to six cost-free early childhood resource centers in Pennsylvania. Named Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning the centers will be for children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds.

 Done With slight edit and an additional source. -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

1. At the end of the Finance section, I'm requesting a new subsection called Partnerships, with the following information: "In 2017, the Milton Hershey School created a partnership with Penn State University, its seventh such partnership to offer graduates of Milton Hershey School support at the college level as first-generation college students. Other similar partnerships are with Mansfield University, Shippensburg University, East Stroudsburg University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Millersville University. In 2018, they signed a similar agreement with Dickinson College.

 Done, replaced the PSU source with a third-party source. -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

1. In the Notable alumni section I'm requesting one edit.
   • Edit Garry Gilliam to say "NFL lineman" instead of "Pennsylvania State University football player"

 Done -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

References

Thank you for your help! Megan at MHS (talk) 17:16, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi Megan at MHS, these edits look doable. I'll go ahead and make them and will let you know if there's anything I wasn't able to include/need a different source for.

Cmccarthy215 (talk) 00:30, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi Megan at MHS, I was able to make most of these edits, but you'll need to find third-party sources for a couple things that I wasn't able to add, noted above. Once you have those I'm happy to make the rest!

-- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 18:13, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

I am marking this request as answered, as everything has either been fulfilled or explained why it needs more information. If you would still like to add the information, please open a new request at the bottom of the talk page. Z1720 (talk) 20:18, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

Edit Request (2)

Thank you so much for your help Cmccarthy215. I really appreciate everything you've done so far to make the page better. I would like to request one change from the edits you've made and a few new requests.

1. The Partnerships should be its own heading and not a sub-heading under Finance. These aren't financial partnerships and don't belong under that heading.

 Done Cmccarthy215 (talk) 22:35, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

1. In the History section I am requesting to trim these sentences that have irrelevant and extraneous information in them as per WP:UNDUE:
   • Trim from: "The school's name was changed from Hershey Industrial School to Milton Hershey School in 1953, reportedly to eliminate the possibility of "industrial" connoting a reform school. The school's selection of students broadened in the 1960s and 70s. Following a 1968 decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the racial desegregation of Girard College, the Milton Hershey School admitted its first non-white student. School official James E. Bobb, however, stated that the decision to admit racial minorities was unrelated to the ruling. In 1976, the school expanded its definition of orphanhood to include "social orphans", those with single or divorced parents. In November of that year, the school successfully petitioned the Dauphin County Court on allowing girls based on their charter. The first eight girls arrived in March 1977. Female admission was gradual, first restricted to those between kindergarten and fifth grade, then in the summer of 1977 to sixth through eighth grade, and finally to all grade divisions in the summer of 1978."
   • To: "The school's name was changed from Hershey Industrial School to Milton Hershey School in 1953. The school's selection of students broadened in the 1960s and 70s. In 1968 the Milton Hershey School admitted its first non-white student. In 1976, the school expanded its definition of orphanhood to include "social orphans", those with single or divorced parents. In November of that year, the school successfully petitioned the Dauphin County Court on allowing girls based on their charter. The first eight girls arrived in March 1977 and included all grade divisions in the summer of 1978."
2. Please add a Recognition heading and include the following under it: In 2016, Milton Hershey School's science curriculum supervisor Dr. Jaunine Fouche received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. In 2017, the Law, Public, Safety and Security program at Milton Hershey School was recognized as the Advance CTE National Program of Excellence. In 2018, the school won an International SOS Foundation Duty of Care Award. In 2018, Milton Hershey School was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education Districts in the country. In 2019, Milton Hershey School's elementary innovation lab instructor Joel Crowley received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

References

Thank you for your assistance, Megan at MHS (talk) 18:00, 19 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi Megan at MHS, was able to make most of these, but unfortunatley the information you want to cut down from the history section is well-sourced and not necesarilly given any undue weight, so there's not enough reason to remove it. With regard to the recognition section, I was able to add most of it, but will need third party sources to replace sources 3 and 4 in order to add the rest. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Cmccarthy215 (talk) 23:14, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Edit request (3)

Thank you for your continued help and feedback Cmccarthy215. I am requesting two more changes to the page, explained below

In the Controversies section, I am requesting specific wording changes in the first and third paragraphs since a number of these controversies have been resolved, or have had more details come to light since they were placed on Wikipedia. Furthermore, as per WP:CSECTION, "sections within an article dedicated to negative criticisms are normally discouraged". Best practice on Wikipedia today is to incorporate events of this nature into the history section. I am requesting that the updated versions of these paragraphs be incorporated along the appropriate timeline in the history section and the controversies section be dismantled.

• Currently the first paragraph reads: In late 2011, a 13 year old was denied admission to the school because he was HIV-positive. The school initially defended its decision, citing safety concerns; an anti-discrimination lawsuit filed by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania led to a settlement of $700,000 for the boy's family and a reversal of the policy. The school again provoked controversy in 2013, when 14-year-old student Abbie Bartels committed suicide shortly after being denied attendance to the school's eighth-grade graduation. A CNN report noted their policy of requiring students to be "free of emotional and behavioral problems". The school later sued Bartel's family, alleging the family was liable for her death. In 2016, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, in response to Bartel's suicide, the school was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for potential violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• I am requesting that it read: In late 2011, a 13 year old was denied admission to the school because he was HIV-positive. While the school initially defended its decision, citing safety concerns, an anti-discrimination lawsuit filed by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania led to a settlement of $700,000 for the boy's family and a reversal of the policy. In 2013, a 14-year-old student Abbie Bartels committed suicide shortly after being denied attendance to the school's eighth-grade graduation. While the family brought a lawsuit against the school, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit refused in early 2021 to revive the lawsuit, agreeing that the case is tragic but that the school could not be held responsible for her death.
• Currently, the third paragraph reads: The school was sued in 2017 by former student Adam Dobson who was expelled for attempting suicide, and who later stated he was forced to watch a religious gay-conversion video. The school and another student disputed Dobson's account, while student Marcous Marchese said he had also been forced to watch the video. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2020, with judge John E. Jones III ruling that Dobson "failed to identify any basis in the record to conclude what he characterizes as gay-conversion therapy resulted in the injuries he alleges."
• I am requesting that it read: The school was sued in 2017 by former student Adam Dobson who was expelled for attempting suicide, and who later stated he was forced to watch a religious gay-conversion video. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2020.

References

Thank you! Megan at MHS (talk) 13:44, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi Megan at MHS, happy to help you with these! We can add these controversies to the history section, but they are substantial enough that it would make the most sense to include them under a "controversies" subheader within the history section. Is that ok with you? In my honest opinion, it might be better to keep them in their original section, since it's toward the bottom of the page instead of higher up in the history section. Let me know what you think.

I can make those updates you noted, however, it looks like you also want some information removed. The lines you want removed are well sourced, so I'm not sure if I see any reason to remove them. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this. Thanks! -- Cmccarthy215 (talk) 22:30, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi Cmccarthy215. Thanks for being so willing to help with this page. There are two requests here and two areas to discuss - one is the actual content changes I'm requesting and the other is where that content should live. Content request: If you look again at the sentences that I rewrote for the controversy section you'll see that these cases were dismissed since the sentences were written. Just because something is sourced does not mean that it is always still relevant - there is excessive information in these two paragraphs about events that were then dismissed, and the irrelevant information should no longer be given weight in the article. If you think about these events in the context of a 112 year history, there is undue weight on events that were since dismissed. If you look at WP:BALASP you'll see that my points for changing these sentences are aligned with this idea. Content Location request: If you look at WP:CSECTION it's very clear that Wikipedia policy indicates that there should not be a controversy section. There shouldn't be a separate one or one in the history section. These materials should be incorporated in the chronologically appropriate place in the history section as part of the historical record of the school. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks! Megan at MHS (talk) 15:10, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Hi Megan at MHS, thank you for explaining this further. Upon reviewing your explanation, I agree that we should go ahead and revise those sentences to reflect that the cases have been dismissed, and remove some lines that are no longer relevant/given undue weight. I will make those changes. As for incorporating them into the history section - I see what you're saying. Let me look into this a bit more and consult with some other editors to make sure that is the best way to move forward, and I'll get back to you on that shortly. Thanks! Cmccarthy215 (talk) 19:38, 5 May 2021 (UTC)

Pinging Collect and gandydancer as I see they have worked on this page before (although it was a very long time ago). Could one or both or you provide your input on the above request when you have some time? Basically two questions: 1) Is there enough reason to remove the lines the requester specified in the controversies section?; and 2) can the controversies section be dissolved and implemented instead into the history section? Appreciate any input here. Thanks! Cmccarthy215 (talk) 19:04, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

I think yes and yes... But basically, it is my opinion that WP goes wayyy to farrrr in keeping criticisms for basically decent people or in this case a school, forever having to live with what should be seen as a small blip in their reputation. When AIDs first came out everyone was scarred to death and commonly reacted badly. There is no reason to provide more than a very brief mention of it, if that. On the other hand a certain college made some extremely racist decisions and I have made sure that they remain in detail. Same thing for sexual misconduct. Gandydancer (talk) 20:04, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

Cool, thanks for your input Gandydancer, that's what I was leaning toward...I'll go ahead and work on weaving those controversies into the history section rather than having that whole dedicated section. Cmccarthy215 (talk) 22:00, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

Megan at MHS the changes you requested have been made. Cmccarthy215 (talk) 17:49, 18 May 2021 (UTC)

Hi, Cmccarthy215. Thank you so much for your willingness to listen to my requests, research the best approach, and get the edits accomplished. I really appreciate it! Megan at MHS (talk) 12:42, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

Judeo-Christian

Why does the page say "the school has Judeo-Christian elements but is officially non-sectarian" when there is no evidence of Jewish thought or education in the school? I propose this be changed to just "Christian elements" to be accurate unless there is some source that shows Jewish values on display (e.g. religious education includes Jewish education, or any Jewish symbology). Including it enforces the idea that Jewish and Christian values/practice/etc. are the same — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fluxjupyter (talk • contribs) 14:56, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

I edited it now. If people have an issue with this change, please discuss Fluxjupyter (talk) 12:45, 9 June 2022 (UTC)

I find that it's because that's what their website claims. The term Judeo-Christian is a term that is only used by Christians and generally more evangelical Christian. I think the change was more than justified. I'm curious if the page's statement that the school is non-sectarian in the drop-down quick facts should be edited to similarly reflect this fact AlmostHalfOkay (talk) 16:42, 11 August 2024 (UTC)

Updates to the page

Hello, I would like to suggest some updates to the page.

In the last paragraph of the Governance section, please add:

The Catherine Hershey Schools were designed to provide young children with increased academic, social, and emotional support. Free, on-site services include physical, occupational, and speech therapy, meals, personal items, and transportation. The program also supports families with a parent resource center.

In the School structure section, please add:

In 2024, the school introduced ‘theme homes’ where high school students of similar interests live together and engage in experiential learning about topics including visual and performing arts, first responders, basketball, and softball.

References

Thank you! Megan at MHS (talk) 18:24, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

I'm here because of a message on my talk page. I haven't fulfilled the first edit request bbecause I think it's too promotional and I've partially fulfilled the second, but generalised it because we try not to add things that date too quickly. Graham87 (talk) 03:22, 21 August 2024 (UTC)

Graham87 (talk · contribs), thank you for your help in updating the page! Megan at MHS (talk) 12:57, 28 August 2024 (UTC)