A New Kind of Nest

Jericho High School unveiled its newest initiative, the Nest program, which is designed to create a safe space for students to make connections and build a sense of community in and out of the classroom.

According to Co-principal Mr. Cohen, the Nest mission statement is “to provide a safe and supportive space for students to feel a deep connection with the members of our community and share voices for making positive change.” These monthly meetings give students the opportunity to relax and create meaningful bonds with their teacher and peers.

The original vision of the program was to randomly assign a heterogeneous group of students from mixed grade levels to faculty members and have each group meet about once a month. However, restrictions associated with the pandemic forced an edit to that plan.

In its current form, the program is facilitated in core English classes and will probably stay this way through the end of the fall term. However, other teachers are also encouraged to adopt aspects of the program. “Our hope is that there could be opportunities for teachers in any of their subjects to do something like this in their classes,” said Co-principal Cohen, who describes himself as a “huge believer” of the initiative.

Mr. Cohen is very excited about what the program has to offer and believes it is necessary for students’ mental health. “There are unique and new pressures that teenagers go through, because of social media, because of societal changes, because of expectations of teenagers. So if there is a program that our school can create to help students feel connected, to help manage their anxiety levels, their stress and to feel a deeper sense of connection with their school and people they can trust, I think we’d be doing something great,” he said. 

So far, Nest has been met with support from both students and teachers. Junior Hannah C. thinks the program is a great way for students to relieve their stress. “I really like the program. I really hope they extend it to other classes,” she said.

English teacher Ms. Genovese is a supporter of the initiative. “I absolutely love the Nest program. I think it’s a break that both students and teachers really need,” she said.

The students who are fully remote have a different kind of Nest experience. During their English periods, they join a virtual meeting with other fully remote students which is facilitated by a member of the Guidance Department.

Some virtual learners feel that they would rather have had time away from the computer. Freshman remote student David C. said, “Since we’re completely online, I feel like it would’ve been more effective to have a free period instead of more time in front of a screen.”

However, most remote students feel positive about the entire experience. Junior Nancy Z. said, “I actually really liked the Nest program. I had never talked to the people that were in my group before, so it was nice to meet new people. I think being in school would have been better, but the COVID situation is just not allowing that to happen. Given the circumstances, the Zoom calls were still great, and I really enjoyed our first meeting.”

Mr. Cohen is very grateful for the students’ willingness to try a new program and for the faculty’s support of Nest periods. He appreciates the overwhelming support for social and emotional learning during this time. “I’m really proud of the school and the community that even during a pandemic, we’re making sure that we understand the importance of it,” Mr. Cohen said.