Overview

Residential Summer Program

National History Academy: 10th-12th Grade Students

National History Academy is a four-week residential summer program for rising high school 10th, 11th and 12th grade students, held in Middleburg, Virginia. Each July, students come together to explore American history through immersive, hands-on learning experiences that take them to key historical sites. With a unique blend of classroom discussions and travel-based education, the program offers students a deeper understanding of history and its relevance to the present and future.

Spend your summer walking in the footsteps of leaders who helped define and shape the American story, including Presidents, civil rights leaders, and soldiers who fought for the birth and survival of the nation. See and learn about seminal documents that shaped our history from subject matter experts and master teachers. Get behind-the-scenes access to historic sites no other program can provide.

The Academy offers a life-changing experience for high school students with an interest in the history, law and government of the United States of America

The Academy offers a unique blend of formal and informal learning with opportunities for first-hand experiences at the nation’s premier historic landmarks in Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The program explores the extraordinary events and leaders of American history from pre-colonial times to the 21st century. This was the period when the idea of America took shape and when this idea survived the trauma of Civil War.

At the same time, the Academy will focus on major themes—everyday life in the American colonies; the principles of liberty and equality embodied in America’s founding documents; the divisive and decisive debate over slavery; the transformation of the national economy through the industrial and transportation revolutions; and the social and cultural impact of the struggle for civil rights.

I loved the sites that we got to visit. The fact that everyone was from all around the country bringing different views and ideas made the experience great. I loved that my views were challenged and I got to hear the other side of the story. Having the speakers and the great people that came to see us made the whole thing that much more memorable.
Bereket Hailu, Rockville, MD
NHA’s class of 2019 reflects on how the program impacted them over the course of just a few weeks.

National History Academy offers an inspiring and engaging learning environment. Each week, you will spend three days visiting our country’s seminal historic sites and three days in the classroom delving deeply into major themes related to those site visits.

The Academy utilizes a hybrid of formal and informal learning methods through case discussion, debates, reading texts, watching films and documentaries, and lectures by noted scholars. You will further explore all of this through collaborative learning experiences during the immersive on-site visits.

Comprehensive Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed to challenge you to participate and interact with your fellow students and the historical sites we visit.  The experiential curriculum is built around four components: (1) Case Method Institute history cases; (2) parliamentary debates; (3) a speaker series and (4) visits to the defining sites of American history.

Watch what our students have to say about this unique learning approach here.

History Cases

Case Method Institute Cases

The Academy uses the case-based History of American Democracy curriculum developed by Harvard Business School Professor David Moss. This curriculum allows you to engage more deeply with the history you are studying as you explore sites and hear guest lectures by nationally recognized scholars.  The cases provide an interdisciplinary and contextual examination of key historical events, permitting you to consider the multiple viewpoints of historical debates and to place yourself in the shoes of history’s decision makers.

Case Method Institute Cases

The Academy uses the case-based History of American Democracy curriculum developed by Harvard Business School Professor David Moss. This curriculum allows you to engage more deeply with the history you are studying as you explore sites and hear guest lectures by nationally recognized scholars.  The cases provide an interdisciplinary and contextual examination of key historical events, permitting you to consider the multiple viewpoints of historical debates and to place yourself in the shoes of history’s decision makers.

The whole Academy experience is designed to produce three learning outcomes:

To understand the foundations of American democracy

To deepen the appreciation and understanding of the American experience

To encourage civic engagement and citizenry