EA Welcomes New Texas School Partner
c/o Dilley High School
Eloquence Academy extends a formal welcome to Dilley High School!
Located in Dilley, Texas, within the Dilley Independent School District, Dilley High School is a Title 1 public school serving 266 students in grades 9 through 12. 77% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and 78% qualify for the free lunch program. The nearest city, San Antonio, is 75 miles away (a two-hour drive). Thus, Dilley also qualifies as a geographically rural school and faces its own set of distinct challenges, including longer commute times, heightened costs of travelling and attending events in urban areas, and high teacher turnover. A mere 27% of its teachers are full-time.
c/o Mark Tribett
While the school faces these systemic challenges, Dilley is known for its tight-knit student body, passionate educators, and strong community values. In recent years, Dilley students have shown increasing interest in academic enrichment. The Dilley speech and debate program now competes in Poetry, Prose, Informative Speaking, Lincoln Douglas Debate, and Policy Debate.
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. Dilley will receive copies of our flagship curriculum to integrate into their afterschool club and Humanities classrooms. Later this year, we hope to issue a microgrant for Dilley. Our goal is to qualify and send 5-10 Dilley students to the National Speech & Debate Tournament in June.
We are especially excited to partner with Dilley as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting rural debate.
###
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.
