The smartest investment in your child’s future -
whether they’re a debater or not

No other activity teaches students to think, speak, and listen with this level of precision. Debate trains the mind to separate truth from noise, an essential skill when AI generates headlines and scams spread faster than facts. We help students in grades 5–12 develop critical thinking, source analysis, and confident public speaking that will serve them for life.

If your child is already a debater, we can help them reach their competitive goals. And if they’re not in debate yet, we’ll help them find their voice and sharpen their mind.

Support You Child’s Debate Goals

Targeted support. Flexible scheduling. Real results.

We offer private and semi-private coaching tailored to your child’s competitive goals—whether that means winning tournaments, leveling up arguments, or just catching up.

Our offerings include:

  • Private and semi-private coaching for personalized tournament prep

  • Crash courses on specific arguments, theory, and strategy (one-time sessions)

  • Multi-session intensives on key debate skills like rebuttal structure, cross-examination, or crystallization

  • Intro to Competitive Debate courses for new debaters who want to catch up fast

  • Flexible scheduling that works around school, practice, and family time

Debate Matters isn’t a replacement for your child’s team. We supplement what their school or club is already doing—with expert instructors and sessions scheduled when your child is available. Debate coaches across the country are overworked, underpaid, and often managing dozens of students at once. We bridge the gap between what teams can offer and what your child needs to thrive.

Not in debate? Doesn’t matter. Thinking clearly still does.

This is the skillset that lasts a lifetime.

The world your child is growing up in is flooded with noise: AI-generated essays, social media misinformation, scam calls, and viral outrage dressed up as fact. You can’t fact-check their future for them. But you can give them the tools to question, reason, and speak with clarity. Our enrichment classes for grades 5–12 focus on real-world skills: how to form strong arguments, spot weak ones, evaluate sources, and communicate with confidence. In a world where human judgment is under pressure, debate is the training ground for minds that won’t be fooled.

Our Core Enrichment Courses

We offer age-tailored, multi-session classes for students in grades 5–12. These courses are designed to be taken in order, with each level adding new layers of reasoning, analysis, and communication—starting from scratch is welcome.

Grades 5–6

  1. Argument & Critical Thinking: Thinking Out Loud – How to speak clearly, structure ideas, and answer “why?” with confidence

  2. Research & Media Literacy: Fact vs. Fiction – How to spot misleading information and build arguments using good sources

  3. Presentation & Public Speaking: Disagreeing Without Fighting – A guide to respectful disagreement, listening, and persuasion

Grades 7–9

  1. Argument & Critical Thinking: Making Your Case – Building arguments that are clear, logical, and persuasive

  2. Research & Media Literacy: Media & Misinformation – Source evaluation, bias detection, and digital literacy

  3. Presentation & Public Speaking: Speaking Up – Practical speaking skills for class discussions, presentations, and interviews

Grades 10–12

  1. Argument & Critical Thinking: Argument & Influence – How to craft persuasive arguments and anticipate counterpoints

  2. Research & Media Literacy: Truth in the Age of AI – Navigating synthetic media, algorithmic bias, and manipulated narratives

  3. Presentation & Public Speaking: Voice & Presence – Advanced public speaking for academic, civic, and professional settings

Flexible Format

Each course consists of 12 sessions, 35 minutes each. You choose the schedule that works best for your child. Courses can be taken privately for individual attention or in semi-private groups (2–4 students) for a lower per-student rate. Either way, the content is tailored, the pacing is responsive, and the instruction is led by expert coaches who know how to challenge and support each age group.