From saving on school supplies to the impact of federal cuts, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series, “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.

About a year ago, Peter Kisselev and two of his peers recognized what they described as a disturbing trend: Few people could seemingly have calm conversations about controversial topics, and those discussions often escalated into yelling.

As a result, Kisselev, Sam Stankiewicz and Abhi Tiwari, students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia, launched “ Normal Debate .” The website, the three said, provides users with the opportunity to create posts about politics and other topics.

Their hope is t

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