Community IMPACT Symposium: Race, Justice, and Equity

To register your students for the Symposium, click here. If you are returning school, input your ID and password. If you are a new school, select “New School” and complete the requested information, then you will receive an email with your login information. (Please check your spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox.)

Your school’s online account will be your resource for program updates and basic information. You can also make your payments on the ‘Make a Payment’ tab of the main Account Menu’.

There is not a minimum or maximum number of students in a school cohort, but we recommend 6-8 students.

A tuition fee of $975 per student, for Close Up and NNSP members, covers all experiential learning activities, lodging, off-campus social events, and all student meals. Transportation to and from Washington, DC, is not included. A nonrefundable deposit of $500 per student is due by November 15th. Final payments are due by December 15th.

Registration should be completed by November 15th. Deposits of $500 per student should be also be completed by November 15th. Final payments are due by December 15th. The payment dates and deadlines for your program can be reviewed through your Close Up account as well.

Per Close Up’s terms and conditions, the initial $500 deposit per student is nonrefundable and non-transferable at the time of payment. Should you request a refund prior to December 15th, 2022, Close Up will refund any amount paid over the initial $500 per student deposit.

Students will stay at a DC metropolitan area hotel; the same location where the NNSP Annual Conference is being held. There will be two students per room and each student will have their own bed. Students will be assigned a roommate at registration, but may be paired up by school coordinators.

While educators participate in the annual conference, students will join their peers from across the country to consider how to create positive, systemic change in their school or local community. The symposium will culminate with each school team sharing their vision with relevant administrators and community engagement experts at the 2023 NNSP Conference.

Program days typically run from 9am to 10pm daily. Students will engage in a variety of experiential, academic, and social activities in both large-group and small-group settings facilitated by Close Up Program Instructors. While students will have the opportunity to explore the nation’s capital most programming will take place at the hotel. Students will participate in sessions that are designed to help students come together to develop a deeper understanding of complex policy challenges facing the nation, connect those issues to longstanding values and tensions, and gain a rich understanding of the value of deliberation in a democracy. Students will work in groups to create vision statements that incorporate tangible action steps to take back to their home community.

Upon arrival in DC, every student will be assigned to a workshop group that includes one Close Up Program Instructor and 20-25 other students. Each workshop will visit sites together and engage in meaningful discussions. Students will work with their school cohort on their final proposal.

Transportation to and from the program is not included. Please plan to arrive at the hotel for registration between 10:00am- 12:00pm on Saturday, January 28th. The program officially ends Monday, January 30th at 9:00am. Please plan to check out and leave the hotel between 9:00am – 11:00am. All groups must check out with Close Up staff prior to departing. Groups must make their own arrangements to arrive and depart the program in a timely manner.

School groups may select the option to arrive a day early on Friday, January 27th. Please select the option within your online school account. Early arrival is $210 per student and includes programming on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as meals.

Yes, individual students are welcome to participate in the program.  Individual students will room with other students traveling independently.  They will also work together as a group for the final proposals. Please contact us at programsupport@closeup.org for additional information and details to register