Hershey MS

Located at 500 Homestead Rd, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Hershey MS is a medium-sized middle-grades school that serves 742 students (grades 6 through 8), part of Derry Township SD. That puts it 25% bigger than the typical public school in Pennsylvania, which averages around 594 students.

Derry Township SD runs 5 schools in total, collectively educating 3,118 students. Hershey MS is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Hershey MS shows that the largest single group is White, at 62% of enrollment; the rest consists of 17% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 6% Black, 4% multiracial. Compared to Dauphin County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 65 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.2:1 average. About 30% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is south of Dauphin County's rate of about 59%.

With demographic context factored in, Hershey MS performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 64.7%, the actual is 71.1%, a residual of +6.4 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Dauphin County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $76,242 per year, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Dauphin County runs 75 public schools (combined enrollment of about 72,718 students), of which Hershey MS is one.

Nearest neighbor: Hershey Early Childhood Ctr, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Hershey MS at 7th of 8; the average score across the group is 76.9%.

Hershey MS operates from an outer-ring location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 12%: 843 students in 2018 compared to 742 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 72% to 62% over that span.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.