We are delighted to offer online summer programming for middle school students who will be in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade during the 2020-2021 school year. Whether they are already connected with an existing Public Debate Program (PDP) or are new to the activity, we are ready to serve them.
Students who participate in debate get to experience a wide range of educational experiences, including learning about civic engagement, having more confidence and self-esteem, understanding basic research practices, getting public speaking practice, and working with a team. Middle School Public Debate Programs (MSPDP) allow students to address more complex structured arguments. Students are taught to research their positions and refine their public speaking skill.
The debates center around a specific topic. This summer, our middle school program will debate this topic:
The State of California should mandate online education programs for all California public school students for the 2020-2021 school year.
Once enrolled, students will be sorted into smaller instructional groups. These smaller groups are called labs and the labs meet daily with their instructors, or lab leaders. All of our instructional staff are rising high school seniors or college students. Most of them participated in Sacramento-area Public Debate Programs in Middle School. Once your student is sorted into a lab, that group becomes their class for the entire program. They will be further sorted into a debate partnership with two other students, and together the three of them will compete together in the tournament at the end of the two weeks. Each lab will have 12-24 students and 2-3 lab leaders.
Labs will meet online daily via Google Meet, and communicate further using Google Classroom and Google Drive. Interested students should make sure their equipment meets all our program technology requirements before enrolling. Labs are not pre-recorded — they are live instruction. Labs are also not recorded to protect the privacy and safety of minors. Students should prepare to attend their lab meetings daily and will not be able to make up missed time.
Ready to sign up?
Once you have enrolled and paid, you will be contacted by us within 24 hours with your enrollment packet. Parents or guardians will need to fill out and return paperwork. This paperwork can be printed and scanned, or signed electronically and returned. This packet must be returned! Please add @sudl.org to your email whitelist in order to make sure you receive the packet.
If you have additional questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.
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