Be a part of the team that helps create Oklahoma’s future leaders!
Civics, career exploration and leadership training
Network with teachers and students from around the state
3.5 day session in Oklahoma City includes instruction, visits to the Capitol/other sites around the City, hotel, food, and transportation while on program.
How do you prepare for Oklahoma Close Up?
Start by visiting our web page, and reading over all the FAQ’s and other information provided. After you have read that information, check out the many links we have to find out what’s going on in our State Government. This will prepare you and your students for program participation. The process begins with you registering your school. From this registration, an invoice for tuition is prepared and sent to you. Next register your students. All of this is done online, here on our website. We have also built a ‘printable check list’ to help you gear up for program. (Check List) This form helps with a timeline for all the necessary steps; including forms to submit and assisting students with what will occur during program, along with everyone’s expectations.
What will the session be like?
Oklahoma Close Up is an action-packed week with daily educational and evening activities for everyone. We all stay at a local hotel, travel to the Capitol, Oklahoma Bar Center and the area around the Capitol. For additional information about your session, download and refer to the brochure we have on our site.
Student registration pays for all meals from Tuesday through Friday’s breakfast; however, students often bring spending money for snacks and souvenirs. Registration also pays for lodging and transportation Wednesday through Friday (we return to the hotel just after noon on Friday). Each school can bring a group as small as 2 students and up to 10 (exceptions to this rule are made on a case by case basis by the Steering Committee Chair). If your school brings less than 5 students, you will be required to cover the cost of your room during program. We walk a lot so comfortable shoes are helpful, along with coat and gloves being mid February. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. Use the Just for Parents, and Just for Students links to learn additional program details.
For the security of participants, no visitors are allowed on program or are participants able to leave program. Teachers are required to bring students with them. No student participant will be permitted to use his/her own car while attending Oklahoma Close Up. Participants may drive themselves to the start of program, however, for the duration of the program the vehicles keys need to be secured by the sponsoring teacher.
You will receive a program of all the scheduled activities at registration; Close Up will do its best to also E-mail you the program once the final ‘rough draft’ is completed.
The following is an overview from a teacher’s perspective participating in program.
Tuesday:
Registration is from 8:30 to 9:00am, at the Oklahoma Bar Association (1901 N Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105). At this time Close Up will issue each student and teacher their name badge, folder and program. On each student’s name badge, it will list their bus number and small group number. This is allow students to group off into small group activities during the week; grouping students with other students from across the state.
After registration we move right into program, with guest speakers at the Bar Association. We have areas in the back of Emerson Hall for teachers and other staff members to sit. During speakers we encourage the students to interact and ask question of each speaker. On occasion, when student questions are slow to come forward, teachers have had the opportunity to ask questions. Many teachers bring papers and other school related items to work on during many of our speakers, please feel free to do the same.
Mid-afternoon, we will head to our hotel. Teachers will coordinate transportation on the first day of Program for their students. Once at the hotel we will check in all students and teachers to their given room assignments. If you have opted to have a single room, you yourself may check in at the front desk and take care of those arrangements. (Please note: Teacher’s cannot move students. Please coordinate with OKCU Staff if there are issues. We will do our best to accommodate)
Our welcome to program starts around 5:45. We will have dinner and a keynote speaker at this time. Students and teachers are free to sit anywhere in the ballroom as there is not assigned seating. After our keynote speaker has concluded we move into an Orientation/Introduction session. We will introduce our Steering Committee Members, our Program Instructors and you, our teachers. Once this is completed, students break into their small groups and teachers attend a teachers meeting.
During the teachers meeting we will review activities for the week, go over expectations and other information.
Students during this time are in their small groups, each small group has a Program Instructor. Our Program Instructors are normally returning alumni. These Program Instructors are vetted by our Steering Committee each year, and attend different workshops prior to program to start preparing for their small group.
Room check starts at 11pm. Room check is where each Program Instructor pairs off with another Instructor of the opposite sex and moves about the hotel making sure each of their students are in the correct room. This is a visual check, where the student is required to come to the door and converse with his or her instructor. After room check, we have an Oklahoma Close Up hired security guard place tape on each participant’s door. Our security then does rounds throughout the night.
Wednesday:
Day kicks off with breakfast in the ballroom with Close Up participants. Many teachers take this time each day to speak with their students and touch base with them. Program Instructors take this time to confirm everyone in their small group is awake and closer to loading the buses. Then it’s off to the Capitol building where students tour the Capitol in their small groups. Depending on the number of students on program each year, there may be space open for teachers to ride over on the busses, if not a group of teachers carpool over in one of their own vehicles.
Shadowing! Each student will receive his or her shadowing assignments and report accordingly. Shadowing is scheduled between 8:30 and 3:00 this day. Many of the teacher’s and program staff tour the Capitol, visit meetings and have lunch in the area. It is a good idea to have your student’s contact information just in case they need something during this time. Depending on the schedule of their legislator, he/she may or may not invite your student to lunch. If not, they may purchase lunch at the vending machines / snack bar in the basement or the snack bar on the Fourth Floor. (Please remind your students they need to bring lunch money for this.) Once Shadowing has concluded we meet back in the Fourth Floor Rotunda area and confirm everyone is back.
After Shadowing Close Up tries to schedule a cultural activity for students to take part in; again this is within their small groups.
Dinner is normally up next. During dinner again, there is no assigned seating, however, we do have two tables set up for our Rules Committee. Each small group has elected one Rules Committee member to lobby the bills their group has had the opportunity to write throughout the program. Only Rules Committee Members are allowed at these tables.
After dinner we have our Mock Legislation I. Each Legislation house is split into an ‘even house’ and an ‘odd house’ (each small group is numbered). During this time teachers are encouraged but not required to skip between each house and watch from the ‘galleries.’
Then off for Room check.
Thursday:
Breakfast again.
After breakfast and buses are loaded we head back for the Capitol and/or the Bar Center once again. Same as yesterday, your students are back in their small groups interacting with speakers.
Normally on Thursday morning we have two cases from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. During this time no classroom work is able to be completed by the teachers as we are in an actual court proceeding.
Banquet/Dance ~ Thursday night is our Banquet night; many participants dress up in formal wear and attend the Banquet and we have a keynote speaker. After the Banquet, everyone has the opportunity to change and come back down to the Banquet Hall and participate in a dance. Every student is required to be down in this area, either in the main hall for the dance or outside the hall. We request the help of our teachers during this time; please work with the Chair and our Program Instructors to supervise the dance and the entrance area to the hall.
Then students are off for room check.
Friday:
Breakfast again, along with room checkout. Everyone checks out of their rooms, some teachers have students bring belongings back to their school buses/vans. However, there will be a room (normally one side of the banquet hall) for students to store their belongings to be loaded after we return to the hotel about 12:15 that day. Program is concluded around 11:45 on Friday. Teachers have the option to leave directly from the Capitol, instead of riding the buses back. If you choose for your group to leave from the Capitol, please have your students notify their program instructor.
With your help, Oklahoma Close Up is a great experience for all those involved.