Join the Ascend School Year Team

Welcome to speech and debate! If you’re in grades 5-9, we’d like to invite you to join Ascend Academy’s online middle school speech and debate team. Through the prism of Congressional Debate and Public Forum, we introduce middle school students to the world of speech and debate through multiple online classes every week and online competition opportunities through the school year. Congressional Debate bridges the presentation and pathos skills learned in speech events and the research and argumentation skills learned in traditional debate events. Public Forum gives students the Students gain an understanding of a wide variety of the most prescient issues facing the United States and the world. Students who participate in Congressional Debate become more knowledgeable of real world issues and develop the ability to opine on a broad variety of issues, making themselves more aware members of society as they mature. Participating in middle school speech and debate sets students up for early success in high school speech and debate.

Second Semester Registration Fee: $699.99, February to June (~$140/month). If you have any questions, please schedule a call with us to learn more.

Deadline to Register: February 28, 2026

Register for The School Year Team!
A smiling man in a gray suit and white shirt standing in front of a wall of colorful sticky notes or labels arranged in a grid.

“Everyone who gets into Harvard, Stanford, and Yale has a ‘spike.’ Let’s start building your spike this summer.”

— Varun Kota, Stanford MBA and Director of Middle School Debate

Harvard, Stanford, and Yale university logos displayed side by side.

The Extracurricular for the Age of AI

In the Age of AI, the ability to speak clearly, persuade confidently, and lead decisively is your child’s unfair advantage. Ascend trains the uniquely human skills that no machine can replicate — the ones that create leaders and changemakers

Built by members of the Stanford University community, Ascend equips your child with the tools that AI will never master

Inside the Ascend Middle School Team Experience

  • Two students are engaged in a discussion in a classroom with a whiteboard and a window in the background, while another student is sitting at a desk with a water bottle and a laptop.

    Live Expert Coaching

    Small groups with action oriented feedback every day

  • A classroom full of students working on assignments, with notebooks, laptops, and writing materials on their desks.

    Tournaments

    By joining Ascend Academy, you uniquely can compete at the best middle school tournaments in the country, preparing students for the highest levels of competition.

  • A group of diverse students smiling and engaging in a classroom setting, seated around tables with papers and water bottles.

    Social

    Meet ambitious middle schoolers from across the world! This both helps in competition and allows students to join a team where they can make new friendships that last a lifetime!

  • Lectures

    From topic and skills lectures to classes focused on presentation skills, the lessons students learn will enhance their knowledge of the world and public speaking abilities.

  • Practice Skills

    The best way to internalize anything is by putting it into action. At Ascend Academy, students will practice against peers in a coach-guided setting.

  • Experience

    There are other middle school academies, but none bring the level of experience that Ascend brings to the best. You deserve experts, not rookies.

Academic Year Schedule

  • Classes will take place from the week of September 8, 2025 until the week of June 15, 2026. We welcome students to join throughout the school year

  • Students will have opportunities to compete under the Ascend Middle School name, which is ideal for students without their own teams. Students must be enrolled in monthly classes to be eligible to compete on the Ascend Middle School Team

  • Please see below a tentative tournament schedule for the Ascend Middle School Team in the second semester:

    • NSDA Springboard Scrimmage: January 2026 (Online)

    • Stanford Invitational: February 2026 (Online)

    • Harvard Invitational: February 2026 (Online)

    • NCFL National Tournament: March 2026 (Online)

    • March Ascend MS Debate Tournament: March 2026 (Online)

    • April Ascend MS Debate Tournament: April 2026 (Online)

    • Middle School Tournament of Champions: May 2026 (Online)

    • May Ascend MS Debate Tournament: May 2026 (Online)

    • NSDA National Tournament: June 16-19, 2026 in Richmond, VA

A classroom filled with students using laptops and tablets, attentive and focused.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes we absolutely do, please email us at team@msdebate.com or schedule a call on our Calendly to discuss your request.

  • The Ascend Academy Middle School Team is designed for students in grades 5-9. If you are in an age range outside these grades but are still interested in joining, we'd like to discuss your specific circumstance in additional detail. Schedule a call now!

  • We do not offer refunds.

  • Absolutely! Our programming is tailored to both students that have been part of the middle school team as well as those new to the program.