We Do

Debate is More Than an Activity. It’s a Game Changer!

Chicago Debates partners with school districts to provide 6th–12th grade students with transformative programming in competitive academic debate and speech. Our programming helps students build critical thinking, communication, and advocacy skills while enhancing their academic success. Our work focuses on five key areas:

• Promoting Debate and Recruiting Schools: We engage principals and teachers to launch and grow speech and debate teams across the Chicagoland area.
• Coach Recruitment, Training, and Program Support: We train and mentor over 100 coaches annually, providing 1000+ hours of technical support and resources to ensure student success.
• Preparation of Core Debate Materials: We create accessible, high-quality curriculum materials each year to guide students in building arguments, refuting opposing views, and using evidence effectively.
• Tournaments: We coordinate and run 30+ tournaments annually, managing logistics, facilities, staffing, judging, and awards.
• Summer Camp: Each year, we host a 2–3 week camp called the Chicago Debate Summer Institute, an intensive and affordable camp experience for middle and high school students to strengthen their debate and speech skills.

Schools engage with our program by participating in one of our competitive formats: Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, Debate en Español, and Speech & Advocacy. Learn more about each format below.