Objective
SpeakFirst enriches the academic experience of gifted students from Birmingham’s public high schools through participation in an “all-star” debate team. This highly collaborative initiative addresses a wide array of needs created by the deficit of opportunities and resources in their local communities, including one-on- one tutoring and mentoring, college admissions and financial aid guidance, standardized test preparation, youth development activities, and summer internships for the debaters.
SpeakFirst Accomplishments
Since 2004, SpeakFirst debaters have participated in 352 debate practices, competed in 34 tournaments, and won 324 debate rounds, and earned more than $1,000,000 in scholarships for its first graduating class of eight seniors. SpeakFirst has also established incredible new partnerships with The University of Alabama, UAB, and UA Huntsville. Each of these institutions has committed to providing, in perpetuity, full, four-year academic scholarships, including tuition and fees, to Birmingham school students who complete at least three years of SpeakFirst.
Program Mechanics
Currently, there are sixteen students participating in the SpeakFirst program. The program holds debate practices in downtown Birmingham three days per week for three hours each day. Students compete in at least one tournament each month, typically debating a current events topic related to politics or public policy.
Debate serves as a starting point for developing a stronger overall academic skill set as well as confidence and social dexterity. In addition to cultivating research and debate techniques, the SpeakFirst model engages students in standardized test preparation proven to dramatically improve test scores in planning for college admissions. Throughout the year, SpeakFirst students also gain valuable exposure to significant historical and cultural locations and events by participating in a required series of field trips. SpeakFirst students participate in summer internship opportunities provided by The Kids & Jobs Program, administered by the City of Birmingham Division of Youth Services. The internships take place in various public, private, and nonprofit sectors of the business community. The students work in four-week paid internships for the purpose of developing professional interests and cultivating occupational resources.
Community Need
Current educational opportunities for many of Alabama’s gifted children are compromised by a poorly funded public school system and lack of educational choices outside of the classroom, which subsequently limits academic performance and achievement. As is the case in many urban centers across the nation, the consequences of limited learning opportunities for Birmingham’s most promising students can be devastating. Unless their educational experience is one that includes schools with extensive resources and a wide array of opportunities for extracurricular learning, it is unlikely that their social and academic needs will be fulfilled.
In an effort to address these circumstances, the SpeakFirst program provides students with the opportunity and resources to overcome these limitations. The foundational element of the program is competitive debate, which serves as a starting point for developing a stronger overall academic skill set as well as confidence and social skills.
SpeakFirst Partners
SpeakFirst is a collaborative effort among the students attending the colleges and universities in the Birmingham region, the staff of Impact, the Birmingham City School System, Architecture Works, where the students hold debate practice in the afternoons, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, the Birmingham Division of Youth Services, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama Huntsville, and numerous area law firms and businesses.
We also wish to thank the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, our primary national sponsor, which has provided tremendous support to our efforts.
Goals for the Future
Each year, SpeakFirst continues to attract Birmingham's brightest students. SpeakFirst aims to reinvigorate Birmingham’s inner city youth by engaging them in a competitive, multidisciplinary debate program enhanced by a comprehensive learning experience that includes standardized test preparation training, summer internships, and admissions and scholarship guidance from college counselors across the state. As they sharpen their debating skills, students also improve vocabulary, critical thinking, speaking ability, and language and study skills. Each unique aspect of the SpeakFirst program, in addition to debate training, responds to the critical needs in low-income communities.
