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Fremont Debate Academy (FDA)

A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

Est. 2014

Color Palette

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“A debate & civics program in every school and district across the world”

Fremont Debate Academy’s Mission

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Founders

Rishabh Meswani

William Yoo

Rachit Pareek

Vasuman Moza

Data Science & Business

UC Berkeley

Class of 2021

Irvington High

Class of 2017

Data Scientist @ Asana

Global Management, Computer Science,

& Data Science

UC Berkeley

Class of 2022

Irvington High

Class of 2018

SWE @ Roblox

Philosophy, Politics, & Economics

Oxford University

Class of 2021

Irvington High

Class of 2018

L/S Analyst @ Point72

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Chief Educational Officer

Computer Science & Business

UC Berkeley

Class of 2022

Irvington High

Class of 2018

SWE @ Facebook

Chief Technological Officer

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What We Do

Fremont Debate Academy leverages its volunteer team of experienced high school and university debaters to run free student-run debate & civics programs for elementary and middle school students in grades 4 to 8 throughout the world.

We reach out to debaters and give them the opportunity to become local leaders in their community, teaching their younger peers to become confident, argumentative, critical thinkers in our society.

Fremont Debate Academy offers training to teachers and supplies curriculum & educational materials to start district-supported and teacher-run debate programs within their own classrooms / after-school programs.
We offer access to a suite of resources for teachers, including 24/7 support through Slack, our specialized online course, and our extensive teaching guide.

Fremont Debate Academy runs and supports both virtual and in-person programs that run for anywhere from 8 to 32 weeks.

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Fremont Debate Academy’s Impact

5000+ students impacted

20,000+ cumulative volunteer hours

200+ International Team

100+ Broward County & Teach for America school teachers trained

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Over the past 8 years, Fremont Debate Academy has run programs in 19 states & 8 countries.

Fremont Debate Academy runs an annual international debate tournament for all its programs. Last year, more than 100 top teams competed virtually.

Global Reach

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District Partnership: FDA x Broward County Case Study

The Broward Debate Initiative, run by Broward County Public Schools, has 15,000+ kids competing in debate from the elementary to high school level.

Fremont Debate Academy is currently training dozens of elementary school teachers in Broward County to bring debate to their classrooms / after school programs.

We’re currently working with many other districts like the Fremont Unified School District and Hayward Unified School District on similar initiatives.

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District Partnership: FDA x Fremont Unified

Over the past 8 years, Fremont Debate Academy has operated debate programs in 21+ elementary / middle schools across Fremont Unified School District.

These programs are either teacher-run, high school student-run, or parent-run and include strong partnerships with the PTA and district. It’s a community effort!

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Debate’s Impact on Students

External Studies

Debaters have shown to exhibit statistically significant and substantially stronger academic/personal outcomes.

Studies from Chicago¹ have found that debaters from urban public schools overall are 3.1 times more likely to graduate from high school. The impact of debate is greatest for those in high-risk groups.
Researchers from University of Vermont² found that debate also improves self-esteem and reading comprehension. Debaters also saw a 36% increase in reading test scores, 87% increase in analytical skills, and a 31% increase in regular attendance.

Fremont Debate Academy’s (FDA) internal study

Students participating in FDA’s programs saw a 39.1% improvement in their self-confidence & public speaking skills.
Students participating in FDA’s programs saw a 45.9% improvement in their worldly knowledge & research skills.
90% of students said participating in FDA’s programs has had a positive impact on their academic performance.
Students participating in 3-5 years of FDA’s programs saw a 11-13% increase in the outcomes above than those students participating in 1-2 years of FDA’s programs.

¹http://egdcfoundation.org/work/assets/Effects-of-Participating-in-Organized-Debate-on-Academic-Achievement-1997-2007.pdf

²^{https://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/DEBATE-%20Important%20for%20Everyone.pdf}

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Teacher’s Guide

Content & Topic Presentations / Guides

Online & Paper Worksheets

Instructional Videos from Youtube Channel

Logistics & Recommendations

Supplemental online course

Fremont Debate Academy’s education team has developed world-class curriculum that provides teachers all that they need to run a 8 week after-school debate program in-person or virtually. All curriculum aligns with Common Core Standards.

Solution - Curriculum

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What does an FDA elementary / middle school program look like?

Logistics

Generally a 8+ week after-school program

Once a week for 1-1.5 hours

Session Content

Utilizes the Middle School Public Debate Format designed by Claremont Mckenna College

Format is designed for 4th to 8th grade students
First 3-4 weeks focused on teaching the basics and drills
Next few weeks include practice debates & feedback
Final week is a showcase debate for parents