NEWARK, N.J. — November 26, 2025 —
The Newark Debate Academy (NDA) has launched the 2025–2026 school year with extraordinary momentum, marked by record participation, new schools joining the community, and a surge of competitive and instructional activity across Newark’s high school, EMS, and classroom debate programs.

This year, 53 Newark schools now have active speech and debate programs supported by the Academy — including 39 middle schools and 14 high schools. NDA welcomed 6 new schools into the community this fall (4 middle schools and 2 high schools), along with 13 new coaches across the district (10 middle school coaches and 3 high school coaches), strengthening its citywide capacity to support student voice and academic excellence.

Since September, NDA has already hosted the first middle school and high school tournaments of the year, led a districtwide Professional Development session, and conducted more than 20 site visits to Newark schools. These visits and PD sessions have encouraged the use of literacy-rich debate routines in the classroom while simultaneously strengthening the competitive debate teams at each participating school. 

The energy from these early efforts has been evident across the district. As Associate Director Christian Quiroz noted during the season’s opening tournament, “I have been around this community for a very long time and I don’t think I’ve seen this auditorium this full for a first tournament… ever. So this is a big accomplishment for the Newark Debate Academy, and all of you (the debaters and coaches).”

Competitive engagement across the district is also off to a powerful start. Newark high schools have traveled to 9 debate tournaments and 7 speech tournaments so far this year — including major national invitationals such as the Yale Invitational, the NYC Invitational at Bronx Science, and the Glenbrooks Invitational in Illinois.

With more schools participating, more coaches trained, more tournaments attended, and more instructional support provided than any recent year, NDA is poised for one of its strongest seasons yet. The Academy looks forward to continuing this momentum through upcoming EMS tournaments, high school travel events, and expanded classroom integration throughout the year.

About the Newark Debate Academy

The Newark Debate Academy is a nationally recognized urban debate program serving Newark’s elementary, middle, and high school students. Through competitive leagues, classroom-integrated debate instruction, professional development for teachers, and community partnerships, NDA provides thousands of students each year with opportunities to develop literacy, leadership, and critical thinking skills. For more than two decades, NDA has advanced educational equity by ensuring that every Newark student has access to high-quality debate education.

Media Contact

Christian Quiroz
Associate Director
Newark Debate Academy
Email: cfquiroz@newarkdebateacademy.org
Phone: 201-259-8570
Website: https://newarkdebateacademy.org/