Three weeks to speak up, make the case, and build what's next.
Each week of summer stands on its own — and ends with something real your child made: a speech they deliver, an op-ed they can publish, and an AI-powered pitch. Take one, two, or all three.
10am–4pm, Mon–Fri · Rising grades 5–9 · No student turned away for cost
Summer 2027 · now enrollingThe three weeks
Pick one, two, or all three.
Each week stands on its own, with its own topics and its own finished project — no week depends on another.
Speak Up
Public speaking is the skill students fear most and need most. In Speak Up, middle schoolers learn to organize their thoughts, command a room, and move an audience — and they practice until it feels natural. By Friday, every student has written and delivered a real speech on an issue they chose and care about.
- How to structure a persuasive speech that actually lands
- Ethos, pathos, and logos — the three engines of persuasion
- How to read and win over an audience
- How to manage nerves and stage fright with real techniques
Make the Case
Make the Case teaches students to do what most adults can't: build a genuinely persuasive written argument. Students learn what an argument actually is (a conclusion plus reasons), how to support it with evidence, how to take the other side seriously, and how to write it all up as a sharp op-ed. By Friday, each student has a finished, publishable opinion piece with their name on it.
- The anatomy of an argument: claim, data, warrant
- How to write a thesis that's worth defending
- How to find and use strong evidence (and spot weak evidence)
- How to handle counterarguments fairly and powerfully
Build What's Next
In Build What's Next, students put everything together. They pick a real problem, learn how AI and social entrepreneurship actually work, design an AI-powered solution, build a simple prototype, and pitch it — Shark-Tank style — to the group. It's the fullest expression of Know–Care–Act: knowledge and conviction turned into something they made. No coding or AI experience required.
- How AI works — and where it helps, where it fails, and where it raises ethical questions
- The basics of social entrepreneurship: finding a real problem, designing for real users
- How to go from idea to prototype using accessible AI tools ("vibe coding")
- How to build and deliver a compelling pitch and pitch deck
The daily rhythm
A day in the life
Every day is a complete Know–Care–Act loop, and every day follows the same rhythm from 10:00am to 4:00pm. (Exact timings can shift a little.)
| Time | Block | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00–11:45 | Activity & Topic Discussion | An interactive opener and a deep, multi-disciplinary discussion of the day's issue. (Know) |
| 11:45–12:15 | Skill lab | A focused lesson on the week's craft — argument, rhetoric, thesis-writing, pitching. |
| 12:15–1:00 | Project studio | Hands-on work toward the week's project — op-ed, speech, or pitch. (Act) |
| 1:00–1:30 | Lunch | Fridays: meal provided. Other days: bring lunch or add the meal plan. |
| 1:30–2:30 | Task Force | A hands-on simulation where students role-play decision-makers and solve a real problem. (Care + Act) |
| 2:30–3:00 | Skills & reasoning | Rotating skill-builders: logic and cognitive biases, research, rhetoric, reasoning games. |
| 3:00–4:00 | Project / Presentations | More project work; by Friday, students present their finished pieces. |
What students actually do
The activity types
Topic Discussions
Socratic, multi-disciplinary conversations that build real understanding of an issue. Never a lecture; students talk, question, and disagree respectfully.
Task Forces
The program's signature. Students are cast as the people who actually decide — a Supreme Court, a city budget office, a school board — and must design a real solution, anticipate objections, and defend it.
Skill Labs
Direct instruction on transferable skills: argumentation (claim, data, warrant), rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos), thesis statements, spotting fallacies and biases, effective research.
Project Studios
Guided time to build the week's finished piece, with instructor feedback at every step.
Presentations
Every week ends with students sharing their work and getting feedback — practice being heard.
The Leaders Conference
A capstone summit where students split into government, nonprofit, and private-sector teams and negotiate a joint solution to a shared problem.
Interdisciplinary by design
In a single week a student might touch philosophy, economics, history, psychology, and science — because real issues never stay in one subject. We teach students to think across boundaries.
Non-partisan on purpose
We don't tell students what to think or which causes to champion. Our focus is the process: how to reason, listen, and make a fair case. Students of every background and belief are welcome and challenged equally.
Sample work
Do all three, leave with a portfolio.
A body of work your child can show a teacher, a coach, or a high-school application.
A 3–4 minute persuasive speech, delivered to the room.
A 500–700 word op-ed, revised with real feedback.
A working prototype and founder-style pitch deck.
The essentials
Everything you need to know.
Tuition
One week is $500. Bundles save up to $300.
Every week includes a device, snacks, a Friday meal, a t-shirt, and personal feedback.
Every week includes
- A device to use throughout the program — no need to bring your own
- Snacks and water every day
- A meal on Fridays
- A Leaders 4SC t-shirt
- All materials and personalized feedback on every project
Optional lunch (Mon–Thu) is $75/week. Full tuition details →
Cost shouldn't decide this.
Generous, need-based aid is available and no student is ever turned away for cost. The application is short, confidential, and doesn't affect admission.
Summer 2027 is now enrolling.
Each week is capped at 20 students. Reserve your child's spot with a $100 deposit — and complete registration by April 1, 2027 to get 10% off.