DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY 31 for ALL PROGRAMS BEGINNING BEFORE JULY 15!
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 15 for ALL PROGRAMS BEGINNING AFTER JULY 15!
NO LATE FEE CHARGES UNTIL AFTER THESE DEADLINES. This should permit those discovering the program after the deadline to successfully apply to their summer debate or leadership program.
Welcome to CLAREMONT SUMMER – the site for middle school and high school summer debate and professional communication programs offered by the Claremont Colleges Debate Union.
In Summer 2012, the Debate Union will sponsor 6 programs. These include 2 middle school debate sessions, 2 US high school debate format sessions, 1 international high school debate format session, and 1 professional communication session. Students may attend more than one session. There is instruction for students new to debate or public speaking; there is instruction for highly experienced students.
Claremont Summer is the only officially supported instruction in the Middle School Public Debate Program, High School Public 
Debate Program, and US World Schools Debating Championship program. All staff are certified instructors and judges in these formats. The staff includes the creators of the MSPDP, HSPDP, and CHSSA parliamentary debate models, former debaters and coaches responsible for winning 20 secondary school and college national championships, authors of more than 15 debate textbooks, coaches of World Schools (international high school championship) squads from Korea and the US, and professional communication consultants for colleges and universities, businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations in a half dozen countries.
Programs will be held at Claremont McKenna College, one of the nation’s top ten liberal arts colleges. The college is a member of 
the The Claremont Consortium, a group of 5 undergraduate colleges (Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps) and 2 graduate schools (Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences) modeled on the University of Oxford. The Fiske Guide for Colleges described the consortium as “a collection of intellectual resources unmatched in America.”
Claremont McKenna College is located about 35 miles east of Los Angeles. Students may choose to stay in-residence in supervised dormitories used exclusively by the summer debate/communication program or commute to their selected session. Daily scheduling is ‘family friendly.’ There are optional evening academic and recreational programs and commuting students may select to stay until 9:00 PM (families determine a pick-up time between 5:00 PM, the end of the formal academic program, and 9:00 PM, the official time that commuting students must depart).
Please review the ABOUT page to learn more about the Debate Union, Claremont Summer, and Claremont McKenna College and The Claremont Colleges. The BLOG page will announce program news and updates. CLAREMONT DIFFERENCE explains the unique advantages of debate and professional communication instruction at the Claremont Summer programs. Each summer program has its own site with additional program information – MIDDLE SCHOOL (MSPDP debate format), HIGH SCHOOL (HSPDP/CHSSA debate formats), INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL (WSDC debate format and auditions for 2012-2013 US international debate squad), and CICL – CLAREMONT INSTITUTE FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP (professional communication skills development). Summer application forms and fees are listed on the APPLICATION page.
• 2012 Middle School Public Debate Program (2 MSPDP format sessions)
July 6-11 and July 29-August 3
• 2012 High School Debate (2 HSPDP & CHSSA format sessions)
June 23-30 and July 21-28
• 2012 International High School Debate (1 WSDC format session, including audition for the 2012-13 US international debate traveling team for the World Schools Debating Championship, Eurasian Championship, European Championship, Pan American Debating Championship, and Korea, China, United Kingdom, and Canada debate exchanges and more…)
July 6-13
• 2012 Claremont Institute for Civic Leadership (1 CICL session featuring professional communication training for high school students, including extemporaneous speaking, roundtable discussion, effective argumentation, resume building, essay writing, PowerPoint and multimedia presentations, leadership development, club/organization project management, and more…)
July 28-August 3
Note – Students may attend more than one session and may stay for consecutively administered second session for high school debate (July 21-28) and Claremont Institute for Civic Leadership (July 28-August 3). Students attending more than one debate session are accommodated in more advanced instructional settings during their second session.
When will you have 2011-2012 schedule for the middle school workshop available?
It is online at claremontsummer.org.
Hi – Love to have info on your August 1-6th middle school debate program for our soon to be 6th grader! Please send any specifics you have!
All information is available online at claremontsummer.org. Please let me know if you have questions.
This sounds awesome. When will this information be updated for 2012?
All information is now available for 2012 (exception, welcome/schedule for high school programming, which will be completed within 24 hours and available March 3).
Please let me know how to enroll for summer 1 week session for debate for my son who is currently in 7th grade and how much.
Thank you for your interest in the summer debate program. Application forms for enrollment are available on the application page at claremontsummer.org. Fees vary depending on the nature of the program (for example, commuting or resident student). The fees are listed on the application form. Please let me know if you have additional questions.
It looks life the first session of Middle school debate is split over a weekend. Is there teaching going on over the weekend for the dates 7/6-7/11/12.
thanks,
Kay
Yes. The program sessions are held on consecutive days, including weekends.
Which high school program should we choose?
There are 3 – national high school parliamentary debate (HSPDP/CHSSA formats), international high school debating (WSDC format and Team USA audition), and professional communication (non-competititve program teaching public speaking, argumentation, and presentation skills for school and career leadership, including resume building, interviewing, extemporaneous speaking, argumentation and refutation, roundtable discussion, PowerPoint presentation, club and organization administration and leadership, social and political project development, etc.)
It is possible to participate in any or all of the high school programs.
When is the application deadline?
The application deadline is May 31 (recently extended from May 1 to allow those just receiving information on the summer program to register).
Is there a selection process in the Institute for Civil Leadership or is it first come-first serve process?
There is no selection process. The application process is open until the cap is reached (25 students).
Hi, Our middle school team has some kids who are interested in attending your camp. They have been doing policy debate since 4th grade (will be going into 8th grade next year) and a few kids have been doing lincoln douglas for a couple of years. Do you do L.D. at the camp? Is one of the middle school camps for more advanced debaters or are they both the same? Thank you, Ann
The middle school sessions use the Middle School Public Debate Program format, a proprietary model created at Claremont specifically for middle school students. It is researched-based and involves serious argumentation, so the summer program is helpful for students involved in other debate formats, including policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate. In fact, our textbooks supporting the Middle School Public Debate Program and High School Public Debate Program formats were reviewed by leaders in policy and Lincoln-Douglas debating add the best text for their respective events. Students participating in the middle school program have achieved immediate success in high school Lincoln-Douglas (and other debate and speech) competition; the debate programming clearly facilitates success in other forensic events.
Each middle school summer session is identical, and both are appropriate for new and advanced students, with one exception. Students attending both summer sessions have an integrated program for the second session that builds on work accomplished earlier in the summer.
The programs are the same for each session.
What is the class size? Is there a limited number of openings?
Class size for the primary instructional sessions is 6-7. The student-faculty ratio is 4-1. Yes, space is limited but there is available space (have also secured some additional space on campus for 2012).
Is this a program facilitated by Claremont Mckenna College, or a program that uses the college campus?
Claremont Summer programs are administered by the Claremont Colleges Debate Union, a Claremont McKenna College program. The Debate Union manages undergraduate intercollegiate debate competition and professional communication opportunities, as well as educational outreach programming, including the Middle School and High School Public Debate Program, US national teams for international high school debate competition, Claremont Summer debate and leadership programs, and other secondary school and college/university educational projects. The Debate Union is centered at Claremont McKenna College and students from the 5 undergraduate colleges of the Claremont Consortium are able to participate in programming.