Application Due Date for both Debate & Civics: August 23rd, 11:59 PM
Debate Tryout Date: August 25th from 3:30 - 6:00 PM at Irvington Community Center

Civics Interview Date: August 28th from 3:30 - 5:00 PM over Zoom

Contact email: fdahorner@fremontdebateacademy.org.

*Not Affiliated with Horner Middle School. Program is for 6th to 8th graders who currently attend Horner.

Tryouts Information

Debate tryouts will be held in-person on August 25th from 3:30 - 6:00 PM at the Irvington Community Center. Applicants will participate in one-on-one miniature debates, where they will be judged based on categories such as argumentation, strength of reasoning, speaking style, and their written application. The tryouts are scored such that previous debate experience is not required for a strong performance! Based on demand, we will cap tryouts on a first come, first serve basis, so we recommend applying ASAP! Students will receive an email if they are on the waiting list.  You only need to attend the debate tryouts if you have applied for the debate program.

Civics interviews will be held on August 28th over Zoom from 3:30 - 5:30 PM. Meeting times will be sent to students via email. Interviews will be around 10 to 15 minutes long and applicants will be asked a series of questions to introduce themselves, explain an issue in California they are passionate about, and a potential project they would do to solve this issue. You only need to attend the civics interview if you have applied for the civics program.

NOTE: Students may apply and try out / interview for both programs, but will only be allowed to choose one if they are accepted into both. 
If a student applies to only debate, they do not have to interview for civics. If a student applies to only civics, they do not have to tryout for debate. Only if a student applies to both programs do they need to tryout for debate and interview for civics.

Additional Information about FDA

Fremont Debate Academy (FDA) is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to create a debate & civics program in every school and every district across the world. Over the past 10 years, our team of over 200+ annual volunteers have taught over 7500+ students and aggregated over 45,000 volunteer hours. Over the past few years, FDA has run programs in 19 states and 8 countries, and has trained 100+ teachers through partnerships with FUSD & Broward County (Florida)! This year, we'll be running our 10th year of award-winning programs designed for Horner students.

Through FDA's partnership with FUSD, we've run programs at 25 FUSD schools in both the 23-24 and 24-25 school year.  

Program Information

Fremont Debate Academy’s Civics Program For Horner Students

This is a 16 week program focused on mentoring students to design a real-world project to help their community around them. Students will learn about politics, economics, and civic responsibility, and become social entrepreneurs by taking on their initiatives in teams. This is not a debate program. This program will be held weekly in person on Thursdays at 3:30-5 PM at the Irvington Community Center starting September 4th.

Fremont Debate Academy’s Debate Program For Horner Students 

This is a year-round competitive debate program following the Middle School Public Debate Format (MSPDP). Students will develop argumentation and research skills, and apply them at regional, state-wide, and international tournaments (every 1-2 months in person). This program will be held weekly in person on Mondays at 3:30-5 PM at the Irvington Community Center starting September 8th.

Note: Students may apply and try-out for both programs, but will only be allowed to choose one if they are accepted into both. 6th graders who are accepted into civics MAY be allowed to participate in their respective FDA elementary school debate program, but 6th graders who are accepted into debate may not. 

We’re excited to see what our debaters and civics students can do this year, and we hope to see you at tryouts!