Put yourself in the shoes of a sixth grader — perhaps someone new to Schechter Westchester — on the first day of middle school. Your heart pounds as you enter the lunchroom and wonder where to sit. Suddenly an eighth grader bounds up to you, smiles, and invites you to eat lunch with her. It turns out that she’s your house leader, and over lunch she raves about the classes she loved back when she was in sixth grade. You’re having so much fun that you forget to be nervous. This is just one example of the kind of interaction the new house, or bayit, system is intended to foster at the Middle School.

Saul Zebovitz coordinates the House Leadership program in close collaboration with Eighth-Grade Dean Rena Rosen, who acts as an advisor. “Middle school is a time when some kids feel emotionally vulnerable,” says Rosen. “We are working to make this a place filled with friendly faces. We are helping the kids break down social rigidity, so it becomes easier to make a friend in another grade.”

The house program also provides an opportunity for eighth graders to take on leadership roles. Students apply to be a house leader at the end of seventh grade and 15 are ultimately chosen by a faculty board. The house leaders then meet once a week for a ninth-period elective in cultivating leadership taught by Zebovitz, in which they discuss leadership styles and qualities, and plan school spirit activities.

Naming the seven houses provided yet another opportunity for a teachable moment. The student leaders decided to name them after people they admired, but winnowing down the list proved to be challenging. After much animated discussion, they chose to honor an impressive list of notables: Clara Barton, Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Alexander Hamilton, Milton Hershey, Scott Kelly, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Serena Williams. Says Zebovitz, “They are choosing leadership qualities they want to emulate, and that’s powerful.”