Boston Debate League (BDL)

In the after-school Debate program, greater Boston's middle and high school students join Debate teams which are coached by teachers in the school and compete in city-wide bdl tournaments and other Debate events. At tournaments, students work in teams of two to Debate real-world policy questions, facing opponents from other schools and using college-level texts as evidence. To make Debate accessible to students of all skill levels, the after-school Debate program offers three increasingly rigorous divisions as well as a spanish-language division. During the 2023-24 school year, after-school Debate served almost over 660 students at 35 middle and high schools.

The debate-inspired classrooms (formerly evidence-based argumentation) initiative partners with schools and cohorts of teachers, supporting teachers in all disciplines. Bdl staff serve as instructional coaches and plan and facilitate faculty professional development. Research indicates that students learn better when they talk more - and with each other - in the classroom, so debate-inspired classrooms centers instruction on student voice by offering a comprehensive set of tools that teachers can use to engage students in academic content. With debate-inspired classrooms coaching, teachers create classroom environments where students engage with content and each other in ways that are meaningful, energized, and aligned with real-world problems; where students participate in evidence-based discourse; and where students lead and learn from each other. Debate-inspired classrooms reached 1700 students and 85 teachers in active partner schools during the 2023-24 school year.