What is the CDL?
The Chicago Debate League (CDL) serves to advance the Mission of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS): to be the premier urban school district by providing high quality instruction, outstanding academic programs, and development supports to prepare its students for tomorrow’s challenges. The CDL is one of the nation’s oldest, largest, and very best Urban Debate Leagues. It instructs student participants in reading, speaking, writing, and listening — all of the language arts. With a rigorous critical thinking component, it is an outstanding and challenging academic program. In university campus classrooms and on electronic research databases, CPS debaters are preparing for their future success. Debate empowers all participating students, and thereby helps create school-wide norms and expectations of academic excellence.
