Summer Equity & Justice Institute
1-week sessions 9:00am - 3:00pm; 9:00am - 12:00pm $550-$700
The Summer Equity and Justice Institute (SEJI) offers a series of dynamic weekly sessions where students explore the meaning of leadership in the 21st century. Rooted in Sidwell Friends' commitment to ethical leadership and social responsibility, SEJI invites students in grades 6-12 to dive into critical topics, uncover the challenges and rewards of serving the common good, and develop tools to drive meaningful change.
Each week focuses on a unique theme, allowing participants to engage in thought-provoking discussions, hands-on group projects, interactive games, simulations, and hear from inspiring guest speakers. Through collaboration and exploration, students will tackle real-world social justice issues and discover how interconnected challenges shape our future.
Space is limited—sign up for as many weeks as you’d like!
Required: A laptop or tablet with Wi-Fi (please contact us if this poses a barrier).
Earn community engagement hours: Rising Sidwell Friends 10th-12th graders can earn 5-10 hours per session toward their 60-hour community engagement graduation requirement. Hours vary by week based on program components.
Sidwell Summer is dedicated to making SEJI accessible to all. Financial aid is available for Sidwell Friends students, and non-Sidwell Friends students may apply for Summer Sponsorship.
For pricing, registration, or additional questions, contact us at summer@sidwell.edu.
Dates, Hours, and Fees
| 2025 Dates & Programming | |||
| Date | Program | Grades | Price |
| June 16-20 (9:00am-3:00pm) *4-day week | Fox Tank Ethical Business Practices | 6-12 | $600 |
| June 23-27 (9:00am-12:00pm) | The New Jim Code: How Biased AI Creates Inequality | 7-12 | $550 |
| July 7-11 (9:00am-3:00pm) | Food Justice in the DMV | 8-12 | $700 |
| July 14-18 (9:00am-3:00pm) | This is Native Land: The Past and Present of Native Peoples in the DMV | 9-12 | $700 |
| July 21-25 (9:00am-3:00pm) | Teen Consultants | 8-12 | $700 |
| July 28-August 1 (9:00am-3:00pm) | Bioethics and Social Justice: Navigating 21st Century Challenges | 9-12 | $700 |
| July 28-August 1 (9:00am-12:00pm) | Environmental Justice | 6-9 | $550 |
| August 4-8 (9:00am-12:00pm) | Educational Justice | 6-9 | $550 |
| August 4-6 (9:00am-3:00pm) *3 day week | GenHERation® Summer Intensive | 7-12 | $550 |
SEJI 2025 Program Descriptions
Bioethics and Social Justice: Navigating 21st Century Challenges
This workshop invites high school students to critically examine pressing bioethical issues such as health care inequity, informed consent, gender-affirming care, euthanasia, abortion, human enhancement, genetic engineering, and environmental ethics. Students will explore foundational philosophical perspectives that provide insight into these complex topics and learn how abstract ethical debates translate into real-world social justice efforts.
Through interactive discussions, hands-on projects, and guest speakers, participants will develop the skills to evaluate diverse viewpoints and craft practical, local approaches to address bioethical dilemmas in their communities. This workshop fosters critical thinking, empathy, and leadership, empowering students to engage meaningfully with the ethical challenges shaping our future.
Led by: Stephen Armandt, Sidwell Friends 7/8th History Faculty
Educational Justice
Examining issues of educational justice empowers participants to explore and address inequities in education through a lens of fairness, inclusion, and social impact. Through interactive lessons, students examine how systemic barriers, such as socioeconomic disparities, access to resources, and cultural biases, affect learning opportunities. They will engage in collaborative projects, like advocacy campaigns, to foster empathy and leadership skills while promoting equity in their schools and communities. This week-long experience will emphasize learning through play and critical self-reflection, critical thinking, civic engagement, and the power of collective action, inspiring young learners to become changemakers committed to creating a more just and equitable educational system.
Educational Justice will be facilitated by consultants from the Organizer, Activist, Artist, Advocate Referral System (OAAARS), a collective of experienced change-makers dedicated to empowering young people. Simone Gamble brings expertise in community organizing and creating inclusive spaces for communities of color. Shola Jones is an educator and artist with a focus on racial and gender justice through community-building. Adela Effendy, a licensed social worker and lecturer, specializes in social-emotional learning and decolonizing education. Together, they guide youth in imagining and creating a more equitable world.
Environmental Justice
In this interactive session, we'll unravel the concept of environmental justice and inspire students to become environmental champions. We'll start by exploring the meaning of environmental justice and its connection to one’s practice of “critical self-awareness”. Participants will discover how certain communities are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, and why it's crucial to address these disparities. Participants will understand how these issues impact people's lives, health, and well-being along with brainstorming and practicing youth-led solutions to this work.
Environmental Justice will be facilitated by consultants from the Organizer, Activist, Artist, Advocate Referral System (OAAARS), a collective of experienced change-makers dedicated to empowering young people. Simone Gamble brings expertise in community organizing and creating inclusive spaces for communities of color. Shola Jones is an educator and artist with a focus on racial and gender justice through community-building. Adela Effendy, a licensed social worker and lecturer, specializes in social-emotional learning and decolonizing education. Together, they guide youth in imagining and creating a more equitable world.
Food Justice in the DMV
Combining classroom-learning and hands-on experience with partner organizations in the DMV, this course will address the issue of food insecurity in our local landscape. We will explore the root causes of food insecurity as well as the current landscape affecting this issue in our area, hearing from guest speakers and conducting research in teams and independently. In addition to time spent in the classroom, we will travel to at least two off-campus sites to volunteer directly with organizations working to combat the issue of food insecurity and work toward food justice in our community. Students will have the opportunity to earn between 10 and 15 hours of community service credit depending on their school’s requirements for documentation.
Led by: Alex McCoy ‘04, Center for Ethical Leadership Coordinator, Community Engagement Coordinator
Fox Tank - Ethical Business Practices
As a Gen Zer - you have an incredible opportunity to create, support, and cultivate ethical business practices. Each purchase you make - from your mocha or smoothie to your clothes and shoes - can make a difference and send a message!
This workshop will explore concepts of corporate social responsibility such as environmental sustainability, fair labor practices, diversity and inclusion, ethical marketing and how those can be used to enhance reputation, customer loyalty and brand image. Using the on campus Fox Den store and cafe as our classroom, participants will dive into the operations of a business - from inventory and marketing to customer service, POS systems and budgets. We will then use case studies and explore local businesses that are built on specific social issues including:
Bitty & Beau’s Coffee - more than a place to grab a cup of coffee - it’s an experience that’s changing the way people see other people - proudly employing 400+ individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities nationwide.
Together We Bake - a comprehensive workforce training and personal development program to help underserved women gain self- confidence, transferable workforce skills, and invaluable hands-on experience which will allow them to find sustainable employment and move toward self-sufficiency.
District Taco and others - Minority Owned Business impacting communities through values, local sourcing, and community service.
Through simulations and activities, participants will create mock business mission and vision statements, design new products and marketing campaigns, and culminating in a Fox Tank competition of pitching your business idea to the judges!
Led by: Karen McCann McClelland, MEd, MBA, is Director of Auxiliary Programs at Sidwell Friends School and oversees the operation of a number of ‘businesses’ within the school including the Fox Den Cafe and Store, Early Childhood Learning Center and Sidwell Summer. Karen is a social entrepreneur helping to design and create programs and ‘businesses’ within independent schools that have a positive impact on the community.
GenHERation® Summer Intensive
Designed to equip students with the tools to succeed in the classroom, college, and beyond, the GenHERation® Summer Intensive at Sidwell Friends is a rigorous, dynamic, and immersive experience that inspires young women to achieve their personal and professional goals by encouraging them to think big and push the limits of what’s possible.
During the GenHERation® Summer Intensive at Sidwell Friends, students will:
· Learn from the most innovative companies in America through panel discussions, mentoring sessions, and custom-designed challenges
· Meet powerful leaders from Fortune 500 companies, tech giants, retailers, government agencies, and sports franchises
· Participate in skill-building simulations to practically apply learnings and real-world business practices
· Collaborate as a team to develop and present a venture to a panel of community leaders
· Explore different career paths to discover future job and internship opportunities
· Refine their leadership, creativity, critical thinking, communication, entrepreneurial, analytical, and problem-solving skills
All participants who successfully complete the program will earn a GenHERation® Summer Intensive Leadership Certificate.
Teen Consultants
This innovative program empowers participants with a strategic mindset, problem-solving skills and business savvy through simulated real-world consulting experiences. Collaborate in small teams of junior consultants to design practical recommendations for real business issues faced by popular companies, including Apple, Coca-Cola and Disney. Create and deliver impactful client-ready presentations while learning about careers in consulting and virtually interacting with guest speakers from the consulting world.
For their service hours, participants will design a business plan to consult with a local non-profit focusing on a service project that will engage upper school students. These plans will be presented to the Auxiliary Programs team in a "Shark Tank" format.
Led by: Chuchi Arevalo, CFA, CFE | Founder and CEO of SPARK business academy, an organization that is“Empowering the next generation through financial literacy”. Leveraging 20 years of professional expertise in business & finance and experience in education, SPARK designs and delivers innovative programs (including after-school enrichment classes, workshops and summer camps) at 300+ schools across the US (including many of the top institutions in the country) and globally.
This is Native Land: The Past and Present of Native Peoples in the DMV
In this inquiry-driven workshop, high school students will explore the significance of Native land acknowledgements, focusing on the Indigenous history of the Chesapeake region and Washington, DC. Through guest speakers, a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian, and engagement with the Friends Peace Teams’ Toward Right Relationship program, students will reflect on the role of acknowledgement in social justice. By the end, participants will develop a thoughtful land acknowledgment, integrating history, contemporary Native perspectives, and actionable steps to build lasting connections with local Indigenous communities. Students will also have developed a deeper understanding of Native American history and contemporary issues along with gained skills in collaborative social justice work and community engagement.
Led by: Stephanie Gamble, PhD Upper School Librarian at Sidwell Friends School.
The New Jim Code: How Biased AI Increases Inequality
This course considers the ways that systemic racism and implicit bias impact the technologies that we use. Unfortunately, many citizens believe technology is neutral, but in reality it is heavily influenced by those who make it, the assumptions they make, and the history that it is built upon. Artificial Intelligence systems are often built on western-centric and biased data that produces inequitable and sometimes blatantly bigoted results. Surveillance technologies and the data produced by them negatively impact the most marginalized among us. From large language models (e.g. ChatGPT) and image generators, to job and mortgage screening algorithms, to facial and voice recognition AI, we already live with new black-box technologies that citizens don't fully understand. This course critically considers essential questions around new technologies related to ethics, equity, and justice in the hopes of graduating a new generation of civic and professional leaders equipped to push back against inequitable technology. It empowers learners to establish better, safer, and healthier connections to these new technologies and invites them to use their knowledge to help others.
**The course title was inspired by scholars Michelle Alexander and Ruha Benjamin and their critique of systems of social control.
Led by: Nate Green, Middle School Academic Technology Coordinator at Sidwell Friends School.