Highlights

Speech and Debate
The Monroe Speech and Debate team provides competition in seventeen different events, such as debate, humorous and dramatic interpretations, student congress, impromptu, persuasive and informative speaking, original prose and poetry, and current events-news analysis. The team begins practicing in September in order to compete in tournaments from October to May.

The program was established in 1995 by magnet English teacher and coach Kathy Graber and has grown from an original roster of five to over 85 members. We are the top team in the Tri-Valley Forensics League (of which Ms. Graber is co-president) and one of the most successful teams in Southern California, producing 7 state champions as of 2008 and many state-ranked speakers over the years. Our motto is “We Speak to Win!”

More importantly, speech and debate competition is an intellectually stimulating activity, and a good way to meet other potential student leaders at the Monroe magnet, and at other schools around the state of California. Most teachers of Advanced Placement classes will attest to the fact that Speech and Debate team members have an edge over their classmates, due to the fact that they are more familiar with research techniques, organization, note-taking, and are more articulate and more informed. And because we are a close-knit team, students learn important social and interpersonal communication skills.

Team members compete at many tournaments throughout the school-year ranging from local league competitions to prestigious college invitationals hosted by schools such as UC Berkeley and Cal State Fullerton. And every January the Monroe team hosts its own invitational, the “I Have A Dream” tournament held over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend. In April, the Monroe Speech and Debate team competes at the California championship tournament. For the past several years, we have had the league distinction of sending the highest number of competitors to the state tournament.

In addition to winning titles, trophies, plaques, medals, certificates and scholarships, the Monroe Speech and Debate program contributes to its members’ academic success. Over 95% of all seniors in the program attend a 4-year college or university after graduation, earning acceptances from some of the most highly regarded institutions in the nation: Yale, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Georgetown, USC, Wellesley, the Claremont Colleges, Occidental, Loyola, and all of the UC and Cal State campuses. Appreciating the benefits they experience from the program, many of our alumni describe it as “not only preparing you for public speaking, but preparing you for life.”

Magnet students may join the team at any time, but joining in the freshman or sophomore year is recommended. The team also provides members the opportunity to take on leadership roles as elected officers and squad captains, and parents are encouraged to participate as tournament judges and chaperones at away-tournaments. We end each year with a huge team banquet, where we celebrate our triumphs with tribute speeches and silly awards. Speech and Debate is not only a rich academic experience, it is an exciting social experience as well.