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Make this school year unforgettable with Close Up—begin planning your D.C. experience today!


Upcoming Events

Join us for Close Up Conversations, student deliberations, nationwide conferences, and more! 

 

NextGen Roundtable: Deliberative Youth Summit & Educator Summit

November 10-13, 2026 | Dallas, TX

Throughout this three-day deliberative conference with Close Up and the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab, students will consider multiple perspectives on policy issues related to AI and education, critically examine their own views, explore the values and tensions that shape opinions, hear from expert panels, and work with a diverse cohort of peers to reach consensus. Accompanying educators will take part in a concurrent professional development conference to give students the skills to engage with different perspectives and lead from a place of consensus.

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Close Up at the NAIS Gather Conference

December 3, 2026 | 1:45-3:00pm ET | Boston, MA

Join Close Up Director of Professional Development Sante Mastriana at NAIS Gather 2026, where he’ll be leading a session on “Navigating Challenging Conversations at School.” When today’s headlines walk into your classroom, are you ready? Drawing on 50 years of nonpartisan, issue-centered education, Close Up equips educators with practical tools to turn polarizing topics into productive learning. Walk away with strategies to build classroom norms rooted in empathy, apply a values framework across policy issues, teach students to critically analyze media coverage, and confidently redirect discourse when it breaks down. This session is designed for educators across all disciplines who are ready to create classrooms where tough conversations lead to real growth.

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Close Up at NCSS: Building a Civil Discourse Credential—Curriculum, Assessment & Implementation

December 3, 2026 |9:00am-12:00pm | Chicago, IL

Join Close Up at the NCSS Annual Conference in Chicago and take part in our half-day, pre-conference clinic, “Building a Civil Discourse Credential: Curriculum, Assessment, and Implementation.” The clinic will immerse participants in our mastery-based Civil Discourse Credential designed for high school students, providing the depth needed to evaluate it for adoption in their schools and districts. The credential spans three domains—Analyzing Political and Social Issues, Communicating Across Difference, and Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy—with nine competencies assessed at four performance levels from Emerging to Advanced. Rather than measuring content recall, the credential assesses transferable democratic competencies: analyzing how values and group interests shape political debates, facilitating deliberation across difference, evaluating media construction and influence, and creating responsible civic media.

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Close Up at NCSS: Teaching Political Disagreement—A Values-Based Framework for Civic Education

December 5, 2026 | 2:45-3:35pm | Grand Hall K | Hyatt Regency Chicago

Join Close Up at the NCSS Annual Conference in Chicago and take part in our 50-minute session, “Teaching Political Disagreement: A Values-Based Framework for Civic Education.” This session will introduce a four-week high school civics unit designed to help students understand why Americans disagree about politics—and to engage with that disagreement productively. The unit teaches six core political values (liberty, equality, equity, security/order, private interests, common good) as an analytical framework, then applies that framework to historical case studies and contemporary policy debates through structured deliberation.

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Close Up at NCSS: From Classroom to Community—Teaching Student-Led Civic Research

December 6, 2026 | 8:30-10:15am | Grand Hall I | Hyatt Regency Chicago

Join Close Up at the NCSS Annual Conference in Chicago and take part in our two-hour workshop, “From Classroom to Community: Teaching Student-Led Civic Research.” This workshop will immerse participants in a semester-long community research curriculum designed for high school civics and government courses. Across five phases, students identify a local policy issue, design and conduct original qualitative and quantitative research with community members, analyze and synthesize their data, and present evidence-based recommendations to authentic audiences. Rather than simply describing this model, the workshop will guide participants through three hands-on activities drawn directly from the curriculum so they experience the work as students do.

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ARCHIVED EVENTS

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Teaching with Disciplined Nonpartisanship

Videos | December 5, 2024

This workshop will equip educators with the skills to facilitate discussions around controversial issues while maintaining a neutral position.

America in One Room: Data and Impact on First-time Voters Ahead of the Election

Videos | September 21, 2024

Check out the unveiling of the America in One Room: The Youth Vote impact report!

Insights from a Freedom Rider

Videos | June 7, 2023

During this #CloseUpConversations webinar Close Up sits down with Freedom Rider, Joan Mulholland.

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