Boston Debate League
Your Voice Matters
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Many students who attend under-resourced school districts, mainly students of color, are unprepared for college and the workforce, especially compared to their peers in more affluent districts. In BPS, 30% of students do not graduate high school in four years, compared to only 13% statewide, and as low as 3% in wealthy suburbs like Lexington (MA DESE, 2017). Students who do graduate from high school are often unprepared for college, as BPS graduates commonly need up to two years of remedial classes before they can take college credit courses, and only 32% of all BPS graduates will go on to graduate from college (Boston Foundation, 2013). Further, it has long been known that in the most effective classrooms, students talk more and teachers talk less. Research shows that teachers of students who are considered "high achieving" speak for around 55% of class time, while teachers of students considered "low-performing" speak for up to 80% of class time, leaving little room for discussion.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
After-School Debate League
Hundreds of middle and high school students from across Boston debate a complex, real-world policy question each year. The program served over 800 students at 36 middle and high schools last year and is expanding to 40 schools during 2017-2018. Teams of two students face peers from other schools during 90-minute rounds. They engage with collegiate, non-fiction texts to craft arguments and respond to their opponents.
Each debate team is coached by teachers in the school, practices twice weekly, and competes in six BDL tournaments from October to March. Students can also compete in up to seven regional and national tournaments. Local professionals, college students, former and current debaters, BDL alumni, and community members volunteer as tournament judges. To make debate accessible to students of all abilities, ASDL offers three increasingly rigorous divisions and Spanish-language debates.
Evidence-Based Argumentation (EBA) Initiative
BDL’s innovative Evidence-Based Argumentation (EBA) initiative partners with entire schools to help teachers of all subjects educate and inspire students. It increases academic rigor by offering support, professional development, and activities that put student voice at the center of the classroom. EBA offers Boston’s teachers new tools that help students build crucial skills for the future while learning classroom content. EBA reached over 4,000 students and nearly 350 teachers in 10 schools during the 2016-2017 school year. EBA is designed to be a school’s core instructional approach for at least three years with a tiered model of BDL staff support.
Through EBA, students move beyond memorization of facts to a deeper understanding and application of content. For example, in history class, students do not memorize the names of American Civil War battles, but debate which was the key turning point of the war. They question, support, and challenge one another, engage in rigorous thought, and take on the heavy lifting of their own learning.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The driving goal of BDL's work is that students who participate will demonstrate measurable gains in academic achievement, 21st century skills, and community engagement. Young people can draw on these skills throughout their time high school, college, and the workforce.
BDL is currently implementing its Strategic Plan to significantly extend the organization's programming and impact across the City of Boston. The organization aims to bring debate teams to every middle and high school in Boston Public Schools, and triple the use of argumentation as a classroom teaching tool in schools across the district. As BDL expands, its programming is offering students the opportunity to use their voices and be heard, while providing teachers with tools that help students build essential academic skills that will help them succeed in the future.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
As mentioned above, we began a strategic plan in 2014. At the conclusion of the strategic planning process we will update this section to show our specific growth strategies.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The BDL staff now numbers 9 full-time people, and two additional hires are planned for the spring of 2014; six members of the staff are former teachers with more than 30 years of combined teaching experience in K-12 and college. The BDL's most critical partner is the Boston Public School System. BPS provides financial and physical resources that make the BDL's work possible. In return, the BDL administers debate in ways that significantly improve school culture and academic achievement. The BDL has also enjoyed significant financial support from the Barr Foundation, the Smith Family Foundation, and State Street, to name a few. The support and endorsement of these funders has put BDL on the radar for many other funding organizations and so, has helped the BDL to achieve its current level of development. We also enjoy the endorsement and support of smaller organizations like the Boston Bar Association, which has been a key volunteer recruitment partner. The BDL relies upon hundreds of volunteer judges to judge debate rounds. Other key volunteer recruitment partners include local law firms, corporations, businesses, and colleges. The support of partner organizations with access to likely volunteers is essential to our success. As we grow and expand our partner organizations and impact, our reputation as a successful partner in education reform likewise grows. We believe that the completion of our strategic plan in the spring of 2014 will allow us to fully catalyze and increase our partnerships by providing us with an executable and ambitious plan to bring debate to all BPS middle and high schools.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We are not yet in every BPS middle and high school. We hope to achieve this goal in the coming years.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Boston Debate League
Board of directorsas of 02/25/2021
Stone Wiske
Matt Schnall
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
John Isaacson
Isaacson Miller
Mary Dibinga
Boston Latin Academy
Elbert Hardeman
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Alison Eggers
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Marisa Kelly
Suffolk University
Eva Mitchell
Boston Public Schools
Winifred J. Lee
State Street Corporation
Kenneth Deveaux
Santander Bank
Nikheel Dhekne
IBM