Empowering Girls’ Voices

The student summit is open to all high school girls in grades 9-12 who have an interest in civic engagement and action. We recommend a cohort of 4-8 girls per school. If you would like to offer this opportunity to a larger class or club, please reach out to us about capacity. 

Students must participate as part of a school cohort. Educators with an interest in building girls’ deliberative and civic leadership skills are invited to attend with or without a cohort of students. 

We anticipate most schools will bring a cohort of 4-8 girls. If you would like to offer this opportunity to a larger class or club, please reach out to us about capacity. 

ICGS Educating Girls’ Symposium takes place on Friday, February 6 at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland. Separate registration for educators is required for that event. Sign up here! Transportation will be provided.

For students, the tuition is $1,550 per participant. This covers all summit sessions, evening activities, meals, hotel accommodations, and daytime and nighttime supervision and security.  

For educators*, the tuition is $1,550 per participant. This covers some meals and hotel accommodations. 

*This cost does not include the ICGS Educating Girls’ Symposium taking place on Friday, February 6. Separate registration is required for that event. Learn more and sign up!

A nonrefundable deposit of $1,550 for the student cohort is due to Close Up by November 24, 2025. Final, nonrefundable payment is due by December 19. 

All payments are nonrefundable. We encourage all participants to purchase travel insurance.  

Yes. Close Up strongly recommends that each person purchase travel insurance through Travel Guard, America’s #1 travel insurer. This will protect against delays, flight cancellations, and other travel-related issues, including a medical emergency that may prevent passengers from traveling. To assure the full promotion benefit of the policy, travel insurance should be purchased 15 days after the first payment is made. 

 A participant may elect to purchase Travel Guard coverage up to 48 hours before the trip begins, but coverage is limited. After completing traveling information, select “CLOSE-UP FOUNDATION” under “Tour Operator.” If you do not know your airline at the time of purchase, choose “NONE.” Participants can elect to purchase travel insurance upon completion of their enrollment forms online. 

Students and educators will stay at the same hotel in the Washington metropolitan area. Students will room with other students from their school. There will be two or three students per room (depending on how many students a school sends), and each room will have two double beds. School coordinators will assign roommates. 

No. Close Up provides night monitors on each hall who will check the students into their rooms each night. Night monitors are available should students need anything overnight. 

Yes. There are dedicated periods during the educator summit to observe the students in action. 

The full program days run from 9am to 10pm. Students will engage in a variety of experiential, academic, and social activities in both large-group and small-group settings facilitated by Close Up program instructors. Most programming will take place at the hotel. 

Upon arrival, students will be assigned to a workshop group of 20-25 with a core program instructor and students from other schools. This will allow students to hear from, learn from, and meet peers with different perspectives from across the country. They will then break into committees by issue area and work in those groups for the next two days. Throughout the three days, they will come back together as a large group for academic and social activities. 

The summit tuition does not include transportation to and from Washington, D.C. When making your own travel arrangements, please plan to arrive in Washington on Tuesday, February 3, in time to register. The summit begins the morning of February 4 and ends on the afternoon of February 6. All groups must check out with Close Up staff prior to departing. 

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at programsupport@closeup.org!

Close Up is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic education organization that informs, inspires, and empowers young people to become active citizens. Since 1971, we have served more than one million students and educators through experiential learning programs in our nation’s capital and in local communities, professional development, and curriculum design and consulting. Our goal is to connect what students learn in class to the real world around them and help them articulate their own views, listen to those of others, and engage with people of different backgrounds with tolerance and understanding. To learn more, visit closeup.org. 

The International Coalition of Girls’ Schools is united in elevating women’s leadership worldwide by educating and empowering our students to be ethical, globally minded changemakers. Our Coalition is the leading advocate for girls’ schools, connecting and collaborating globally with individuals, schools, and mission-aligned entities dedicated to educating and empowering girls. To learn more, visit girlsschools.org.