The cost barrier
Debate is effectively pay-to-play. Most investment sits with well-funded private school programs, while public high school teams rely heavily on fundraising for travel and other costs.
About Uplift Debate
Students teaching students.
Four high school debaters run Uplift Debate as volunteers, bringing near-peer instruction to younger students across Peninsula communities.
The project
Uplift Debate brings debate workshops to students reached through Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula rather than through a single school district.
The volunteer team has completed programs at the Fiesta Gardens Clubhouse in San Mateo and the Orange Avenue Clubhouse in South San Francisco.
The work focuses on students without existing access to debate and builds a pathway toward competitive high school programs.
TODO: photo
Why access matters
Debate can build valuable skills, but the opportunity to participate is uneven.
A limited middle school pipeline
Very few public middle schools have debate programs, so most students who participate do so through paid after-school organizations.
Visibility and stigma
Debate is not well known to many students and carries an ivory tower reputation. Students who try it tend to end up enjoying it.
Mission and vision
Mission
Our mission is to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills for middle school students through exposure to debate.
Vision
Our vision is for young people in the Bay Area to be confident, engaged, and self-advocating members of their communities.
Values
Three words guide the work.
Community
Students are reached across multiple Peninsula communities through Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula.
Inclusivity
Priority goes to students without existing access to debate, including students on financial aid.
Collaboration
BGCP provides the venue and access to students; Uplift Debate provides the curriculum and instruction.
Why student-led matters
Near enough to listen. Experienced enough to teach.
Being students themselves lets the four volunteer co-leads offer near-peer mentorship.
It also helps the team stay responsive to what the students in each program actually want.
The volunteer team
Four volunteer co-leads teach and run the project, with support from an advisor.
Volunteer / Co-Lead
Jayen Shah
Three years of debate experience.
Long-time BGCP volunteer.
Arranged the workshops and built the Fiesta Gardens curriculum.
Has taught PF debate to middle schoolers.
Volunteer / Co-Lead
Benji Wojin
Three years of debate experience on the national circuit.
Co-captain of the Nueva debate team.
Has taught PF debate to middle schoolers at Nueva summer programs.
Volunteer / Co-Lead
Sam Cedar
Two years of debate experience.
Has taught PF debate to middle schoolers.
Taught at the Orange Avenue workshops.
Volunteer / Co-Lead
Harry McLaughlin
Three years of debate experience.
Previously volunteered with BGCP.
Has coached middle schoolers and new members of the Nueva debate team.
Taught at the Orange Avenue workshops.
Advisor
Marc Sidel
TODO: Marc's background and affiliation.