LANCASTER, PA — Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning opened its first Lancaster County center last week, expanding free early childhood education and family services to 100 children from qualifying households in three local school districts.
The 28,000-square-foot facility at 393 Long Lane in Pequea Township is the fourth of six Pennsylvania centers initially planned by the Milton Hershey School subsidiary. The center opened at full enrollment.
CHS New Danville primarily serves families who live, work or attend school in the Penn Manor, Solanco and Lampeter-Strasburg school districts. Eligible children range from six weeks to age 5, with tuition and other program costs covered for qualifying families.
The center employs as many as 60 teachers and staff and operates year-round from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Its opening raises CHS capacity to as many as 550 children across Dauphin and Lancaster counties during the 2026-27 school year, according to the organization.
The facility occupies the former Lancaster Mennonite School campus and includes classrooms, an instructional studio, a family support center and more than 13,000 square feet of outdoor play space.
CHS uses a play-based curriculum focused on children’s social, emotional and cognitive development. Enrolled children also have access to health services through a partnership with Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
Additional services include physical, occupational and speech therapy, behavioral health support, meals and personal care items. Family support staff provide goal-setting assistance, home visits and connections to community resources.
“The opening of CHS New Danville is an important step forward in our mission to increase access to high-quality early childhood education and care,” Interim Executive Director Brittany Tomaso said.
Milton Hershey School and CHS President Peter G. Gurt, Tomaso and Center Director Jessica Bailey participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and facility tours marking the opening.
CHS opened its first center in Hershey in 2023 and now operates four locations in central Pennsylvania. Additional Lancaster County centers are planned in Elizabethtown and Lancaster.
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