Flexible & customizable opportunities for primary and secondary schools to support a debate program
Debate-Inspired Classrooms
Overview
Eloquence Academy makes starting and maintaining a debate program easier.
From hiring a coach to maintaining student interest to traveling to tournaments, debate is a costly endeavor. It is therefore no surprise that more than 85% of public schools across the United States lack a debate program. Even when a debate program takes shape, it is hard to maintain, requiring a multi-faceted approach similar to running a business: careful management of resources, investing in participants, and securing continued teacher support.
By investing in the specific funding or logistical needs of K-12, public, independent, magnet, charter, boarding, and homeschools, we ensure that debate is attainable for every student. We offer a combination of curriculum, tournament registration assistance, direct financial support through microgrants, teacher professional development, and most frequently, coaching both on-site at the school and online.
Program Eligibility
✔️ Your school serves students in grades 4th through 12th
✔️ Any part of the world
✔️ No fees or tuition for any school-based programs
Schools Programs Office
The widest-reaching of our three primary programs, school programs empower educators to use our plethora of resources to spark curiosity and creativity, promote cultural understanding, and foster an empowered, civic-minded citizenry.
Build A Flourishing Debate Team
Our network of schools is lively, diverse, and passionate about debate. We support each school through flexible partnerships and personalized instructional opportunities.
Partnership Options
Coaching
Eloquence Academy faculty members deliver synchronous debate coaching either as a daytime elective or through an afterschool club. Coaching is offered in a virtual or in-person format, and at any frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.). Schools are generally expected to coordinate the time at which their students will receive the coaching, and ensure that all students can join on a personal device or shared camera at the front of the classroom.
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If virtual, a videoconferencing link will be provided by Eloquence Academy. Our team members are happy to assist with technology issues on both ends. Please note that our coaches will use the same materials as in the “curriculum & resource integration” partnership, but may have more extensive experience in delivery.
Microgrants
Annual microgrants from $100 to $1,000 are awarded to schools that demonstrate need and will use the financial support to take their burgeoning debate programs to the next, increasingly impactful level. Additionally, we simplify the elaborate process of registering for a debate tournament by coordinating student contact information, monitoring deadlines, and assisting with data entry.
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Each year, Eloquence Academy partner schools are welcomed to apply for a microgrant of anywhere between $100-$1000. The funding can be used for a variety of purposes, including National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) membership fees, tournament fees, materials, supplies, clothing, or anything else that is debate-related. We typically prefer schools that fund tangible objects or items (clothing, supplies, etc.) which extend beyond one-time use, as opposed to an online resource about a specific debate topic that is only relevant for a month. The microgrant application period opens on September 1. We budget a fixed amount of $35,000 each year and distribute accordingly; applications remain open and are accepted on a rolling basis until all funding is distributed. Applicants are asked to provide background information about their school and a compelling reason as to why funding is necessary.
Eloquence Academy recognizes that registering for debate tournaments can be a confusing and tiresome process, whether it be coordinating judges, paying entry fees, or entering student information. At any point in their partnership, schools may ask to register their students under the ''Eloquence Academy'' name for an online debate tournament. While we will directly pass on the registration fees and judging obligations to the partner school, we will assist with all other registration processes and not surcharge or profit off sending students to tournaments.
Curriculum
Schools receive a copy of our flagship debate curriculum, access to our resource hub, a curated newsletter, and assistance from our staff on best methods for integrating debate into Humanities, English, and History classrooms. Teachers are welcomed to reach out and meet with Eloquence Academy ambassadors if they have any questions about the curriculum or newsletter materials.
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At 8am on each Monday of the school year, a debate curriculum package will be emailed to school administrator(s) and teacher(s). The package will include a full copy of powerpoint slides, any accompanying materials (worksheets, videos, graphic organizers, etc.), suggested models for integration, and instructional advice. We will also share our exclusive newsletter curated on a weekly basis to include the most relevant current events and academic research on a given debate topic. Please note that this model does not involve synchronous instruction from an Eloquence Academy faculty member.
Rural Debate
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Rural Debate *
In 2023, we announced a ten-year initiative to bring our instructional programs into census-designated rural schools.
Arguably, the most significant recent development in rural education has been the expansion of digital learning accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan allocated $122 billion through Fall 2024, enabling rural schools to engage virtual educators and provide students with high-quality online instructional materials. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission invested $20 billion to enhance broadband access in rural areas. These efforts have led to a 23% increase in students with digital learning devices and a notable rise in rural communities with access to 25/3 Mbps internet speeds.
Our partnership with the Rural Debate Initiative (RuDI) has allowed us to serve hundreds of students in rural areas. In particular, we champion and leverage the assets unique to rural areas, such as their pride of place, sense of community, and a diverse set of practical skills. We encourage our coaches to adapt our flagship curriculum—to adopt place-based educational approaches and put local community issues at the center of pedagogy and inquiry.
Core Values
Flexibility — Charters — Network
Flexibility
Collaborating with your school to determine the best partnership model
Each school will participate in a unique combination of programs and maintain a distinct timeline of partnership based on their size, resources, and needs. Additionally, schools can seek to integrate as much debate as they wish. Some will focus more on public speaking, research, and argumentation, only touching upon debate lightly as necessary to frame the aforementioned concepts. Others hope for students to gain mastery of technicalities and compete at national debate tournaments. These choices will affect the charter and determination of partnership length.
Charters
A delineated path towards success
All schools craft a charter that guides their partnership. It will consist of a shared Google Document between Eloquence Academy and the school. The charter will include a stated purpose of the partnership, the preliminary timeframe of partnership, an agreed schedule for coachings (if necessary), and the match between our coach to school. Schools are encouraged to bring specific questions or considerations as we construct the charter, as charters are inherently collaborative. While charters can be edited, it is ideal to create as strong and detailed a charter as possible to begin with.
Network
A community of integrity and compassion
Throughout the year, we plan intermittent debate-inspired professional development workshops for teachers. We also host monthly interschool events for students, including virtual game nights, intramural tournaments, and complimentary college admissions webinars. These opportunities unite our national community and connect our rural communities to urban ones. All partner schools receive a calendar invite and communication for these opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What constitutes a school year?
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Eloquence Academy defines a school year as beginning as early as September 1 and ending as late as June 30. Eloquence Academy will abide by that standard school calendar with no sessions during any federal holidays, Election Day, and a week-long break over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Additionally, due to the large number of school partners and for ease of scheduling, there are no “make-up” lessons offered on a week in which a federal holiday created a cancelled class. Over the course of the year, the number of holidays usually balances such that the class sections meeting on each different weekday will have met the same number of times total.
The aforementioned is meant to serve as a guideline, but we recognize that there are variations to the school calendar based on district. We are flexible in accommodating those dates. We will work with schools to determine the timeframe while crafting the charter. A partnership can start and end at any point based on the school’s needs and interests. For example, with some schools, we have pioneered a one-week, condensed elective program for students. With other schools, we extend our partnership beyond one year. Schools may also choose to end a partnership earlier than the scheduled end date, or determine an end date based on the first several coachings. We encourage schools to be as communicative as possible as we craft the timeframe.
When are partnerships available?
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Absent a written agreement to the contrary, all partnerships are scheduled to conclude by June 30. Schools may begin partnerships during the middle of the year. However, even if a school starts later than September 1, the partnership will still end by June 30.
If a school wishes to renew and create a multi-year partnership, they will be asked to confirm in writing by June 15. If they do not reach out by that point, they will automatically be offboarded from the internal system and have to externally relaunch a partnership during the following year.
How do I register?
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Even if you are not sure that working with Eloquence Academy will be entirely feasible, we encourage you to reach out. We are always happy to answer questions and/or explore the options with you. Should our program not be a good fit, we are happy to provide recommendations to external organizations and debate leagues with similar opportunities. Historically, we have had school administrators reach out, unknowing if their students would participate in public speaking, and evolve into multi-year debate programs with hundreds of participants.
