The Nest Community School, inspired by the global movement of the Reggio Approach, recognizes the rights of all children to quality education. Now, as ever, it is essential to reaffirm our commitment to creating a learning environment where every child and family feels safe, valued, and respected.
We stand in solidarity with marginalized families and groups, recognizing that fear and political upheaval can deepen inequities and harm. At The Nest, we honor the diversity of our community and strive to be a place where differences are celebrated, and every voice is heard. Our work is rooted in fostering empathy, respect, and justice, and we pledge to create spaces where every child’s potential is nurtured, and every family feels welcomed and supported.
We remain steadfast in our mission to provide a nurturing, inclusive, and equitable educational experience. Together, we can create a community where all children flourish, empowered by the strength of understanding, compassion, and the unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of all.
The Reggio Emilia Approach emerged from the ashes of World War II as citizens of Reggio Emilia, a small town in northern Italy, sought to rebuild their community in a way that would prevent the return of fascism and tyranny. Ann Pelo, a Reggio-inspired educator, describes this powerful origin story in her book from Teaching to Thinking (2018):
"The setting for this story is Italy, 1945. The Second World War is over; the fascist dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini, is dead. The country is physically shattered and the people are emotionally and psychologically worn down. Worn down, but not broken, for in that devastated country was the strong political will that sustained the Resistance and that will fuel the rebuilding of Italy.
In the spring of 1945, the citizens of Reggio Emilia, a small town in northern Italy, came together determined to remake their community in such a way that the fascism that had led to their country's disintegration would not find a foothold again. They scraped together the few resources available in their devastated village: an army tank, six horses left by the retreating Germans, and three trucks. They sold these, which gave them some initial funds. They salvaged bricks and beams from bombed houses and began to build a school on land that a farmer donated 一 the first secular school in Italy 一 a school run not by the church or the state, but created by and in service to the community. This was the community's response to the danger of totalitarianism and tyranny: create a school for the youngest children.
Here's how Loris Malaguzzi, the first pedagogical leader in the Reggio schools, describes the beginning: "Finding support for the school in a devastated town, rich only in mourning and poverty, would be a long and difficult ordeal, and would require sacrifices and solidarity … rage and strength to survive. What sort of teaching and learning would take place in this school founded to oppose fascism? It would, by necessity, emphasize critical dialogue, collaboration, subjectivity, and inquiry. What would be the goal of this educational project? Nothing less than changing history. Malaguzzi, again: "We are part of an ongoing story of men and women, ideals intact, who realize that history can be changed, and that it is changed starting with the future of children. What did this beginning feel like? This ambitious project to change history by creating a new way of teaching and learning? Here's how Malaguzzi describes the first teachers: "Their thoughts were ample and greedy and their energy boundless ... We felt both enthusiasm and fear … We were able to imagine the great challenge, but we did not yet know our own capabilities nor those of the children. From these beginnings grew the schools that we know of today in Reggio. There was more activism done to garner the support of the city government: parents and teachers held school on the stairs of city hall, and in the central piazza, and in city parks, determined to make the school visible in the community, part of the civic consciousness. They occupied an abandoned building in the center of town, transforming it from war rubble into a home for the serious and joyful work of inquiry and investigation. Every gesture, every act was in service of the goal of changing history: "The first philosophy learned from these extraordinary events, in the wake of such a war, was to give a human, dignified, civil meaning to existence, to be able to make choices with clarity of mind and purpose, and to yearn for the future of mankind."
Today, schools continue to serve as children’s first taste of democracy—not as a “winner-takes-all” system but as a community in which all work together for inclusivity, respect, and collaboration. As Carlina Rinaldi, another Reggio leader, reminds us, “Learning is not the transmission of a defined body of knowledge, what Malaguzzi refers to as a ‘small’ pedagogy. It is constructive, the subject constructing her or his own knowledge but always in democratic relationships with others and being open to different ways of seeing, since individual knowledge is always partial and provisional.”
Our human brains are wired to create categories—it’s how we make sense of the world. Young children are especially adept at black-and-white thinking, often framing their experiences in terms of “good guys and bad guys” or “us and them.” This type of thinking stems from their developmental stage; young minds often focus on their own perspectives and preferences, seeing them as the “best” or the “right” way. This is how their brains attach new learning to existing knowledge.
Take, for example, my son Arlo. At around nine months old, after learning to crawl and chase our family cat, he excitedly learned the word “cat.” For a while, every creature with four legs and fur was a “cat.” Over time, as he encountered more animals, his brain started to create more nuanced categories—“some cats are actually dogs,” “some are cows”—and by the time he was 18 months old, he had dozens of words for a diverse range of animals. This is how human learning expands: we create categories, fill them with new experiences, and, when necessary, create new categories as our understanding deepens.
As adults, it is our responsibility to remain open to creating new categories rather than being locked in rigid, black-and-white thinking. To embody our own rights and freedoms, we have a duty to respect and protect the freedom of others. When we encounter perspectives that challenge our own, we have a duty to reflect and expand our thinking, creating new categories that encompass the diversity of human experience. This is a practice we foster in our preschool—every group meeting, classroom discussion, and creative expression offers children the opportunity to see the world through different lenses. When they work together on a problem—“How might you build a structure?”—they see hundreds of different approaches. This builds a richer category for “how we build a structure,” one that appreciates the diversity of ideas and solutions.
In this way, children learn to value the perspectives of others and see that the diversity of ideas makes for a better, stronger whole. Subjectivity—the idea that everyone experiences the world differently based on their unique context—is at the heart of a peaceful society. When we teach children (and remind ourselves) that there are many “right” answers, we foster a world where empathy, respect, and the ability to see beyond our own lived experiences thrive. True objectivity is impossible because every person views the world through their own subjective lens; acknowledging and embracing this creates a society where understanding and respect can flourish.
Our values are reflected in our All Are Welcome Here Promise. We honor and celebrate the diversity of our community, rejecting discrimination in all its forms. We commit to providing an inclusive environment for children, families, staff, and volunteers, creating a nurturing space where every voice is heard. We stand in solidarity with marginalized groups, working to ensure safety, belonging, and the power to flourish for all.
In keeping with our commitment, we foster resilience and empathy in our children, creating environments where their sense of belonging is rooted in respect and understanding. We recognize the importance of proactive collaboration and discourse, knowing that schools can change history by nurturing thoughtful, engaged, and compassionate future citizens.
Together, we strive to create a community where all children and families can flourish, empowered by understanding, compassion, and a commitment to equity and justice. The lessons of the Reggio Emilia Approach remind us that education is not only about academic learning but about creating a democratic society where everyone thrives.
Nest Community School’s All are Welcome Here Promise:
The Nest Community School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression and identity, age, national origin (ancestry), citizenship status, cultural identity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, economic status, level of education, home language, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, children, families we serve, and volunteers. At the Nest Community School, ALL ARE WELCOME HERE, these words are a promise to children and families. The following are the many facets of that promise:
Our promise to the children in our community:
We will build an open, safe and mutually respectful school community in which each child and each family is an important and equal member.
We will never allow differences of any kind to be an excuse to make fun of, exclude or harm you.
We will listen carefully and lovingly to what worries you and give you thoughtful, age appropriate information and support.
We will nurture you to feel strong and proud about yourself, your identity and your family.
We will facilitate your skills to build relationships with classmates who are alike and different from you.
Our promise to the children, families and teachers in our community:
We will honor and celebrate the many facets of your unique individual and family identity.
We will honor your family’s importance to you by building respectful partnerships with them.
We will provide support to you and your family when they feel stress, anxiety, or fear because of current events or acts of prejudice or hate.
We will learn about and help your family use legal and community resources to keep you safe and help you access support.
We will work to uproot our own personal biases as adults and will speak out against prejudice and bias wherever we encounter it.
We will mobilize our courage and become active with others to resist and change any policies and practices that may threaten to cause harm to you or your family.
We will model and engage in respectful discourse in response to any concerns as a collaborative problem solving team.
We will support each family’s sense of belonging to our community “village.”
We will speak of you and with you using respectful language.
[All Are Welcome Here promise taken and adapted from NAEYC Anti-Bias Education for Young Children & Ourselves, second edition]
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