EA Welcomes New Arizona School Partner
c/o Empire High School
Eloquence Academy extends a formal welcome to Empire High School!
Located in Tucson, Arizona, within the Vail Unified School District, Empire High School is a public school serving 888 students in grades 9 through 12. 13% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 5% qualify for the free lunch program. Empire is classified as a rural fringe school, as it is technically located just outside the Tucson metropolitan area. Due to its geography, Empire faces teacher retention and recruitment challenges with burnout, pay, and discipline cited as most frequent issues. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the transition to a fully digital curriculum fueled enduring challenges around teaching younger students basic computer skills and maintaining academic proficiency.
Our Debate-Inspired Classrooms program supports the funding or logistical needs of K-12, public, independent, magnet, charter, boarding, and homeschools in developing their own debate programs. The Empire debate team began one month ago and is already off to a flying start. Empire will receive copies of our flagship curriculum and quarterly afterschool coachings in argumentation, research, and rhetoric. Later this year, we hope to issue a microgrant for Empire. Our goal is to send 15 Empire students to regional and state tournaments in the fall.
We are especially excited to partner with Empire as our first partner school in Arizona and part of our ongoing commitment to supporting rural debate.
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Eloquence Academy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and 509(a)(2) public charity dedicated to increasing equitable academic debate opportunities for rural and historically underserved students. The Academy offers debate classes, summer camps, workshops, tournaments, in-school programs, and online resources for 2,200+ students across 35 states and 15 countries. Ultimately, EA aims to prepare youth for college readiness, career engagement, and community impact through the transferable skills gained from debate. Follow EA on Instagram and YouTube at @eloquenceacademy.
