West Covina USD’s Speech and Debate Program prepares students for success

Superintendent Emy Flores is a strong advocate of the program, implementing similar efforts at previous local educational agencies she helped lead before joining the Los Angeles County district in early 2022. By the end of that year, West Covina USD launched its initiative as a summer camp, which drew immediate interest from the community, Flores recalled.

It’s expanded since and the program, which is offered for grades 4-12 at 14 campuses across the district, is lauded for its impact and successes locally. Some of those wins include back-to-back National Speech and Debate Association National School of Excellence awards for Edgewood Middle School in 2024 and 2025, among many other recognitions that students and schools have received at the state and national levels.

Research suggests that low-income students benefit the most from participating in speech and debate. However, those same students often face barriers to entry like the high cost associated with coaching, tournaments and travel.

At West Covina USD, where 70 percent of TK-12 students enrolled in 2024–25 were socioeconomically disadvantaged, students have access to free, best-in-class coaching with the chance to compete.

The program opens pathways for college and career opportunities and provides students with experiences they may not have otherwise, like traveling via airplane for competitions and staying at hotels. Professional clothing is provided as needed.

The district has partnered with Advantage Communications, an organization that works with LEAs to provide speech and debate programs. Teacher coaches from the schools help to recruit students, communicate with families, organize practices and promote team spirit while walk-on coaches from Advantage Communications rotate through schools providing coaching, support and feedback. Many walk-on coaches are former high school and college competitors and champions.

An after-school offering is available for students in grades 4-8 to take part in the program, and middle and high schoolers can take a class during the regular school day as an A-G elective.

Students of all backgrounds and personality types are encouraged to find their voice through the program, which includes public speaking (where students pick persuasive or informative topics); interpretation (where students interpret scripts and gain performance skills in dramatic or humorous events); and debate and limited preparation (where students develop critical-thinking and argumentation skills).

Specialized support is provided for English learners and students with disabilities, according to the district. Team building is a major component to foster belonging.

A mix of Expanded Learning Opportunities Program and Proposition 28 dollars are used to fund the program, which Flores said makes it replicable for other LEAs.

Investments in the program have paid off in relation to student achievement, according to the district, as participating students performed better than non-participants on the 2024 California state assessments in English language arts and math, had higher grade point averages for both subjects in 2023–24 and had a higher rate of attendance in 2023–24. Additionally, four recent graduates from the district received scholarships.

In 2025, West Covina USD was the sole LEA to have a continuation high school represented at the Harvard tournament, according to district officials. And its 2025 national team included far higher rates of Hispanic and Black students than national trends.

Flores hopes to continue to grow the program by adding more participants and branching into other areas like etiquette.

“I have a wonderful board that is so aligned as a governance team. We’re aligned as to what our mission for our kids is … We believe in doing the things that are meaningful and really funneling our resources to make sure that we’re able to sustain programs for the long term,” Flores said.