Washington Urban Debate League

In 2014, a group of former debaters surveyed the educational landscape in D.C. and lamented the lack of high-quality debate programs available for public school students. Debate is a transformative educational experience, but it was only available to students at elite private institutions. They decided to do something about it and founded the Washington Urban Debate League, a non-profit dedicated to improving student outcomes through participation in competitive policy debates.

Washington Urban Debate League (WUDL) uses debate to make transformative opportunities available for students in the D.C. area. Peer-reviewed research shows that competitive debate is one of the best things a student can do with their out-of-school time, building life-long and career-oriented skills that cannot be automated or outsourced. Debaters show more substantial academic and social-emotional growth and graduate and attend college at a higher rate than their non-debater peers. Sadly, debate is traditionally only found at elite private and suburban schools. WUDL creates a space where middle and high school students attending public schools (especially Title 1 Schools) can hone their critical thinking skills, participate in an intellectual community of their peers, and grow in self advocacy. WUDL also provides a pathway to college and career readiness that compliments traditional pedagogy.

We support debate programs at public schools across the Greater Washington area. Debate is a fun and exciting intellectual exchange between students from different schools about issues of the day. 

Extensive research shows is one of the best things a young person can do with their time, improving grades and test scores, attendance, social emotional skills, and civic engagement, all at 1/3 the cost of comparable programs (and free for all youth and schools).