Hershey Launches Innovative Distance Learning Program to Connect Children in U.S.
and Rural Ghana
• Fourth-graders at Milton Hershey School in PA Share Experiences with
School Kids in Assin Fosu, Ghana
• Program Extends ‘Hershey Learn to Grow’ Partnership withSource
Trust and Facilitates Unique Cultural Exchange
• Cisco Video Collaboration Technology Connects Classrooms More Than
5,200 Miles Apart
HERSHEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2012-- The Hershey Company (NYSE:
HSY) has launched a unique distance learning program linking school children
in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Ghana through real-time, high-definition technology that
creates a common, virtual classroom.
The program allows approximately 80 elementary students to learn together based on a
curriculum developed by teachers in Hershey andGhana. Hershey is the largest U.S.
chocolate maker and Ghana is a world leader in cocoa production.
The Hershey Learn to Grow: Ghana Distance Learning Program is a first-of-its-kind
program developed in collaboration with the Milton Hershey School, the M.S. Hershey
Foundation and Hershey Story Museum, Cisco, and African partners that include the
Assin Fosu school, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Cocoa Board and Source Trust.
“We are thrilled by how well our students have responded to this new way of learning
about Ghana and seeing links between cocoa growing and chocolate making,” said Joel
Crowley, fourth grade teacher at Milton Hershey School. “Everyone in Hershey has been
inspired by the passion the children and teachers in Ghana have for learning together
through this powerful technology.”
“In Ghana, we are focused on bringing the highest quality education to our rural schools
and believe this technology-based programming is a major step forward,” said Eric
Gyeke, headmaster of the FOSCO Demonstration School in Ghana. “Our children are
delighted by the relationships they are forming with the Milton Hershey
School students.”
Using high-definition telepresence video technology from Cisco, 11- and 12-year-old
students in Assin Fosu, Ghana, a rural town located in the Central Region, are
participating face-to-face in a life-like virtual classroom program with fourth-grade
students located on a different continent at Milton Hershey School (MHS) in Hershey,
Pa. The MHS students connect to Ghana from The Hershey Story Museum’s Chocolate
Lab located in downtown Hershey, Pa. Teachers from both schools, in addition to
educators from the museum, lead the sessions together, following the same curriculum
and lesson plans.
Based on the early success of the Hershey’s Learn to Grow: GhanaDistance Learning
program, the partners have decided to extend the program – originally slated for 10
modules over two months – through the full academic year and explore opportunities to
further expand the program.
“At Milton Hershey School, we try to emphasize to our students that they are a very
important part of a bigger community, and this program takes it one step further,” said
Dr. Anthony Colistra, President of the School. “Students are engaging with their peers
in Ghana for valuable lessons in subjects like geography and science. While they are
participating in this experiential learning exercise, they are also finding out that despite
distance and cultural differences, they have a lot in common.”
The Ghana Distance Learning Program is one component of a comprehensive set of
programs implemented by The Hershey Companyto engage with cocoa communities and
improve the lives of cocoa families around the world.
Students from both countries connect every two weeks and go through six structured
lesson plans over the course of three months. The lessons help the students gain a better
understanding of each other’s cultures and create a global connection. Students look at
factors that impact daily life in each country, from climate and weather to understanding
local geography. They also learn about how cocoa connects their respective local
economies.
The students in Ghana live in one of the highest cocoa-producing regions in the world.
Together, the students will learn how their countries partner to take cocoa from pod to a
finished product. The Ghanaian students will share information about cocoa farming and
learn how cocoa, the key ingredient to chocolate, is grown and where it originates.
The U.S. students and teachers, who live in the same town where some of the world’s
most famous chocolate products are made, will share information about how the cocoa
grown in Ghana becomes delicious chocolate products. The students in Ghana will get to
taste chocolate bars made in Hershey, Pa., with many trying chocolate for the first time.
Each of the distance learning sessions incorporates a cultural exchange activity, an
interactive lesson which ties into the curriculum and a “Q&A” session between the
students. This distance learning program is part of The Hershey Company’s multiple
initiatives to reinforce cocoa sustainability and accelerate farmer and family development
in West Africa, where 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is grown. The program was made
possible through a unique public/private partnership between The Hershey
Company, Cisco Systems, Milton Hershey School, The Hershey Story
Museum and Source Trust.
Source Trust is a non-profit organization focused on sustainable farming practices which
improve the lives of farmers and their families. Earlier this year, The Hershey
Company partnered with Source Trust to create theHershey Learn to Grow farmer and
family development center in Assin Fosu in Ghana’s central cocoa region. The distance
learning program is now part of the Learn to Grow program.
Over the next five years, The Hershey Company will expand and accelerate programs to
improve cocoa communities by investing millions of dollars in West Africa and
continuing to work with experts in agriculture, community development and government
to drive long-term change in cocoa villages where families will benefit from the
investments in education, health and economic opportunities. Earlier this
year, Hersheyannounced a $10 million commitment to accelerate its programs in West
Africa. In addition, Hershey recently committed to third-party certification by 2020 for
100 percent of the cocoa used for all of its chocolate products.