Milton Hershey School recently changed their houseparent job qualifications to allow married couples with up to three biological children living at home to apply to become houseparents. This is an increase from the previous qualification that only allowed houseparents with two or fewer children to become houseparents.

Milton Hershey School (MHS) is one of the world's best private schools, where students in pre-K through 12th grade from disadvantaged backgrounds receive an exceptional, career-focused education with housing, meals, and more—with all costs are covered.

Thanks to the generosity of Milton and Catherine Hershey, who founded the school in 1909, the school is fully endowed and has the resources to ensure both students and staff are provided everything they need to thrive. 

At MHS, houseparent couples reside in on-campus student homes, guiding and nurturing a group of approximately 8-12 students. When initially hired, couples start as flex houseparents who cover different student homes and learn from veteran couples before being assigned to one specific home. Flex houseparents provide a consistent family-like structure for students and handle responsibilities such as driving, administering medication, budgeting, reporting, and more. 

The houseparent career is often more of a lifestyle than it is a job. At MHS, this lifestyle is one that accommodates built-in family time.The Cain family, interviewed below, believes this lifestyle shift has been a huge benefit for their children.

This expansion in the job requirements will widen the pool of qualified candidates and allow MHS to make a difference in the lives of more children as the school seeks to grow in the coming years.

To learn more about houseparenting at MHS, and to apply, click here!

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