Montgomery Youth Summit:
History, Storytelling & Civic Action at the Legacy Sites

The program is open to high school students in grades 9-12 with an interest in history, storytelling, and civic action and who are traveling with a faculty advisor from their school attending the Educator Summit: Building Civil Discourse Skills.

The program will take place in Montgomery, Alabama, with a focus on the Legacy Sites and other civil rights landmarks. Students will stay at the same hotel as their educator chaperones who are participating in the Educator Summit.

The tuition is $1,785 per student and includes all summit sessions, evening activities, meals, hotel accommodations, and daytime and nighttime supervision and security. 

A deposit of $1,785 is due by September 25, 2026, to hold your school’s spot. We’ll be in touch later this fall to confirm your cohort size and enrollment details. 

The Educator Summit serves all educators who are interested in integrating facilitation and deliberation skills in their classroom and creating a culture of civil discourse in their community. Educators attending the conference will experience landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement and develop practical skills and strategies for bringing the experience back to their classrooms. Educator Summit attendees serve as chaperones and faculty advisors to their school’s summit delegation.

Yes. For students to qualify for program participation, a faculty advisor must attend the concurrent Educator Summit to gain critical insights and resources to support students.

The minimum number of students is four. We ask that schools bring a cohort of 4-12 students. 

Students stay at a hotel in Montgomery. Students and faculty advisors will stay at the same hotel. There are two students per room and each student has their own bed. Students room with other students from their school. School coordinators assign roommates. 

No. Close Up provides night monitors in each hallway who check the students into their rooms each night and are available should they need anything overnight. 

Yes. You can observe the students in action at any point during the program and we have dedicated school advisor check-ins each day. 

Program days typically run from 9am to 10pm. Students engage in a variety of experiential, academic, and social activities in both large-group and small-group settings, facilitated by Close Up program instructors.

Upon arrival in Montgomery, every student is assigned to a homeroom group that includes one Close Up program instructor and a small core group of students. Students take part in daily deliberations, debriefs, and feedback sessions.

Upon arrival, students are assigned to a homeroom group with a program instructor and 20-25 students from other schools. This allows students to hear from, learn from, and meet peers with different perspectives from across the country. Homeroom groups participate in discussions, debriefs, and workshops together each day. Students are together by school for action planning sessions throughout the week and to prepare for bringing this experience back to their school. 

Students must travel together as a school cohort with a faculty advisor attending the Educator Summit. Please contact us at programsupport@closeup.org with any questions. 

Close Up is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, civic education organization that informs, inspires, and empowers young people to become active citizens. Since 1971, we have partnered with school districts nationwide to serve 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 www.CloseUp.org.