Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City

by Andrea Elliott

Children as young as four can board here year-round, entering in preschool and staying until the twelfth grade. Their “houseparents” act as surrogate mothers and fathers, driving the students to soccer games and dentist appointments and helping them with homework. The children are groomed at the school’s salon. They get a fresh uniform for each day of the week, as well as swimsuits, Crocs, nightgowns, socks, slippers, and dresses or suits and ties. If their teeth are crooked, they will soon be wearing braces—all of this covered by the trust. Hershey’s students are a cross-section of poor America. Nearly 44 percent are white, 33 percent Black, and 9 percent Latino. Only low-income families can apply; the average student’s family earns $17,207, well below the federal poverty line. Most come from Pennsylvania, per the deed of trust, while a quarter have crossed state lines from as far away as Iowa, Texas, California, and Puerto Rico. Among these children, Dasani’s struggles are not unusual. About one in five of Hershey’s students has been homeless, nearly a third have had a parent incarcerated, and half have witnessed drug or alcohol abuse. Hundreds of students have avoided foster care by enrolling at Hershey as part of agreements made between their families and child protection workers. They are leaving homes of scarcity to attend the richest private school for children in America.