Close Up hosts and takes part in a variety of civic engagement events, both in person and online, to help students and teachers discuss policy issues and connect with members of our nationwide community. These discussions, deliberations, and presentations allow participants to hear different perspectives from experts and each other, and consider new approaches to engaging with current issues.
Fostering Passion-Driven Engagement (NNSP Webinar)
September 18, 2025 | 11:30-12:30pm ET
What if we could redefine community service to be more than counting hours? What if it became an opportunity for students to explore their passions and interests, and to use those passions and interests to benefit the larger community? Join Lindsey Seynhaeve from Indian Creek School to hear how she is working to integrate service opportunities into her students’ school day and academic pursuits.
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Close Up Civil Discourse Credential Educator Certification Pilot Program
October 16-17 | Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area
Close Up, in partnership with Mastery Transcript Consortium, an ETS company, is creating a Civil Discourse Credential to recognize high school students who have demonstrated mastery across three key domains: Digital Citizenship, Communication Across Difference, and Analyzing Political and Social Issues. If you’re a student-facing educator, you have the opportunity to join a two-day training to introduce this credential to your students. The training will focus on a range of communication and analytical skills and civic competencies to develop democratic citizens capable of active participation in a large, complex, media-driven democracy.
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Learning Before Serving (NNSP Webinar)
October 22, 2025 | 12:00-1:00pm ET
Hear from Becca Marcus of Brentwood School about the school’s shift from service learning to learning-service. Becca will share how they shifted their previous “Day of Service” to an intentional, two-day focus on a specific social issue—a change that ultimately led to students deepening their understanding of complex social issues and made valuable connections for future social impact work.
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Developing Global Citizenship (NNSP Webinar)
November 13, 2025 | 12:00-1:00pm ET
Join Kevin Murungi from Brooklyn Friends School as he shares a look at the process of thinking through and designing an effective global citizenship and global competence program. Hear how Kevin helps students take action for social impact on the most pressing global issues while also reflecting on the issues that they explore.
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From Classrooms to Careers: How AI is Shaping Our Paths
December 3-6, 2025 | Houston, Texas
Join Close Up, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab in Houston this December for From Classrooms to Careers: How AI is Shaping Our Paths! This NextGen Roundtable national deliberation will help high school students critically examine the role of AI in the lives of today’s young people, build deliberation and facilitation skills, and gain an understanding of how they can put those skills to use back at school. An accompanying faculty advisor must attend the NAIS Symposium on AI and the Future of Learning, which will be held concurrently in Houston.
NAIS Student Civic Leadership Summit
January 27-30, 2026 | Washington, D.C.
We invite high school students with an interest in civic action and community engagement to join us for the NAIS Student Civic Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.! Through engagement with experts and collaborative inquiry into pressing national issues, you will consider your individual and collective responsibilities and agency, identify best practices in community engagement, and develop vision statements and strategies to make a difference in your own communities. A faculty adviser must attend the concurrent NNSP Annual Conference to gain critical insights to support students with their projects when they return home.
