Rhetorica Debate sessions exclusively for Hackley School students:

Competitive extracurricular programs are facing unprecedented challenges as schools cope with COVID best practices. However, debate is the perfect extracurricular activity for the online environment. With stable remote tournament platforms and the ability to instantly connect with their peers from around the world, debaters can construct cases, deliver arguments, collaborate with teammates, and participate in rounds more easily than ever before. Rhetorica has been running participation heavy online debate sessions since before the beginning of the pandemic and we have learned how to maximize the potential of the space. If you are a Hackley School family and are interested in signing up or learning more, please fill out the interest survey at the bottom of this post!

Program Benefits and Information

• Rhetorica coaches have a long track record of collaborating with The Hackley School and Hackley students. Many Hackley students have participated in our Summer Parliamentary Academy and Rhetorica coaches have been invited to teach at Hackley as well.

• Rhetorica coaches have helped many students achieve success in the specific debate format and league in which Hackley competes. This includes coaching programs that have been awarded national, state, and city championship titles, dozens of local tournament first place finishes, and plenty of speaker’s gavels to go around. We specialize in middle school parliamentary debate.

• Our online classes offer several advantages over in-person meetings. This includes the ability to use unlimited breakout rooms for small group work, inviting guest coaches from around the world for special sessions, and hosting scrimmages with other schools.

• Rhetorica coaches are world class international university debaters who bring energy, practical experience, and an insider’s perspective to sessions. In addition, each coach is paired with a full time middle school educator who brings pedagogical know how into the mix. By using coach and teacher teams, we give students the best of both worlds. Meet Hackley’s Rhetorica Coach Imogen Lawrence-Edwards! Imogen is an Oxford University debater who has coached a wide variety of students, including the highly regarded English National Debate Team.

• Since this private class is available exclusively to Hackley students, we will tailor our format and schedule to meet the exact goals of Hackley’s debate program from topics to scheduling!

• Please inquire for additional information if you would also be interested in private one-on-one/two/or three tutoring and/or day-of tournament coaching.

Exact class details are subject to reaching minimum enrollment. Classes will tentatively be held on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30PM to 5:30PM EST. Tuition for classes is $30 per session with the guarantee of a low student to coach ratio, families must purchase classes in semester long blocks. Please register your interest by booking a seat, payment options will be released when the class reaches minimum enrollment.

Debate Squads and Teams

Running a competitive debate club is an incredible way to allow your students to access the educational benefits of debate while also giving them the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with their peers from all over the country. However, it is also an intense and sometimes complicated process. From registering for tournaments and recruiting volunteer judges to creating competition calendars and managing the team students and parent roster - there is a ton of work to do in order to create a sustainable program. And thats all before we even get to coaching! Let Rhetorica take care of all the details for you. We will place an expert coach at your school who is a good fit for your student’s interests and your school’s educational mission. Rhetorica supports its coaches with decades worth of curricular development experience, team administration support, and everything else they need to help debate become a part of the educational identity of their school. By offering a consistent and sustainable vision for your school’s program, you can avoid the ups and downs of high independent coach turn over. We keep education front and center, making sure that our pedagogically sound curriculum will be of use to students long after they finish their last school debate tournament. Communication and critical thinking are the skills that your students will need for the rest of their lives - no matter their chosen profession or path.

We will work with your school to create a program that is right for you. From the length of practices, to the frequency and number of tournaments, we can fine tune all of the details to meet your school’s goals.

 Clubs and Classes

Rhetorica clubs and classes offer all of the educational power of debate with none of the weekend intensive tournament commitment. Students will work with expert debate coaches to develop their public speaking, communication, and argumentation skills. These life skills are essential to master and their usefulness extends far beyond the classroom. Confident and persuasive students will be well positioned to pursue their own goals, advocate on their own behalf and for those in need, and ultimately be the change makers and leaders of the next generation. Clubs and Classes include in house formal debate rounds and the possibility of friendly exposition rounds with other Rhetorica schools. However, unlike debate teams, they have no commitments outside of class hours other than some minor readings and assignments. Rhetorica can construct classes to fit your school’s schedule of class periods and can be facilitated during school as elective classes or after school as a club. We tailor classes to the age of our students, their areas of interest, and your school’s overall educational mission. More than anything, Rhetorica classes are fun! We know that the only way students will stick with debate is if it is interesting and engaging. Most people think of public speaking as an anxiety producing prospect - but you coaches are experts in recasting the activity as face paced fun. Using classical rhetoric drills along with activities drawn from the stage and improv theater, even the most shy student will be commanding the stage in no time.