Upper School Students Attend NAIS Civic Leadership Summit

From January 27–30, a group of Friends Upper School student leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. for the NAIS Student Civic Leadership Summit—an immersive program that invites high school students from across the country to study how change happens, and to practice the skills needed to help shape a more just future.

Hosted in partnership with the Close Up Foundation and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the summit centered on real-world civic learning: students deepened their understanding of current policy issues, examined how national (and global) challenges show up in local communities, and wrestled with the structures and barriers that can make progress difficult. Just as importantly, they worked collaboratively—listening closely, refining their thinking, and building strategies rooted in community engagement.

Across the week, students developed vision statements with tangible action steps, then brought those ideas forward in presentations to educators and experts at the concurrent NNSP Annual Conference. It was a meaningful exercise in agency: moving from “what’s happening” to “what can we do,” and grounding big questions in practical, values-led next steps.