Rhinebeck High School students and staff will have the opportunity to participate in a Lunch and Learn program in 2026. The 12-session, non-credit program will begin in January and take place during community lunch.
“I’m really excited about it,” said English teacher and program organizer Jennifer Nelson, who ran a similar program at a school in Harlem. “I love working with the enrichment courses that students take and I just really have a great time with students when they’re being creative.”
Nelson, who is overseeing this program as part of her studies to earn an advanced administrative certificate, hopes students will benefit from the program that will enhance skills, friendships and relationships with staff.
Lunch and Learn will offer courses in cooking, food and social skills; babysitting and first aid; athletics training and mentorship; jam band; photography; investing and personal finance, and fishing and marine biology.
Nelson said surveys of students and staff were taken to see what interests overlapped and used these results to determine the courses being offered.
“Hopefully with each time it runs, it will have an established programming foundation,” she said. “I hope we can continue to evolve the offerings to meet student demand and teacher interests.”
Edwin Davenport, high school principal, praised the work done thus far in putting this program together for students.
“I’m delighted by the work our administrative intern Jennifer Nelson has done in identifying learning opportunities for our students and staffing them for our Lunch and Learn program this year,” he said. “These offerings will give our students the chance to dive deep into topics they have a personal interest in during community lunch, expanding their opportunities and enhancing their academic preparation.”