The Human Soul Is Not For Sale
Academy
NEST Foundation will establish the first long-term residential academy for kids from age 12-21, who have been commercially sexually exploited. The facility will also house and provide a prevention program for children deemed high-risk, and a day program for those who have families/housing but are in need of our services.
Specializing in the Interdisciplinary Arts, this sustainable school will accommodate up to 50 students from all part of the United States. Each student will have the opportunity to pursue an education and/or career in an art-related field, including but not limited to the Fine Arts, Dance/Choreography, Acting, Technical Design, Stage Management, Film/Video, Composition, Songwriting, Music Production, Graphic Design, English/Creative Writing, Communications, and/or Arts Education.
Ralph Lerner the former Dean of Architecture at Princeton, and currently the Dean at the University of Hong Kong, will launch an international competition for the design of boarding school in the Fall of 2008, ensuring the highest level of interest within the architectural community.
Our programs and services are founded on a simple philosophy: engage youth through therapeutic art to establish trust and empower them through education and life skills to help each individual develop their personal and career goals.
SERVICES & ACTIVITIES
- Charter School
- Full time RN on duty
- Mentoring Program
- Life Skills
- Reintegration program
- Decision-making
- Landscaping
- Physical Education/Recreation: yoga, pilates, sports, ropes course, gym facility, wilderness/desert field trips
- Nutrition/Cooking/Edible Gardens Program
- Spiritual Class: exposure to all religions, guest speakers from various religious and spiritual backgrounds
- Relaxation: meditation
THE FACILITY
The academy will consist of several buildings, totaling an estimated 75,000 square feet spread across 100 acres of land. Ten contemporary cabins will house 50 children in modular rooms that can be customized to exist in a variety of shapes & sizes. Each room has a twin bed, shower, lavatory, desk area, windows to the outside, built-in shelving, drawers and closet, and a ‘creative’ wall reserved for the tenant to do as they wish. The lighting in the room will also be installed in such a way that the tenant can alter the space simple by turning a few switches and/or a dimmer.
Every room will have a built-in radio/cd player and clock. Walls will be tightly insulated to ensure privacy for each individual. Through field trips with the landscaping instructor, children will be able to choose indigenous plants for their room.
Facility buildings will be divided by age groups and sex, though 70% will be female.
There will be a large auditorium for weekly assemblies, performances, and speakers for all children, and smaller recreational type rooms that can be used for smaller assemblies for each age group. A large library will include up-to-date fiction and non-fiction books and current publications that are deemed appropriate.
FOOD/NUTRITION
Based on the program established by Alice Waters (Chez Panisse), our nutritionist will establish the academy’s own “Edible Schoolyard.” The mission is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school's curriculum and lunch program. It involves the students in all aspects of farming the garden – along with preparing, serving and eating the food – as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.
Aesthetic
The goal is to create a beautiful environment that will inspire personal and social responsibility, one that will also function as a model for other cities.
