September 9, 2010 - With the 2010/2011 school year underway, the Jersey Urban Debate League is making strides to expand its programs, gain new funding, help students transition from middle school debate to high school debate, and to host a tournament incorporating policy and Lincoln-Douglas debate with Public Forum and Speech with the help of some new full-time staff. Militza Diaz and Kurt Shelton have expanded their roles in the league to help with organize the middle school and high school conferences. Diaz and Shelton have both been involved with the league before and their extra help will allow the league to expand. As the JUDL grows its supporters are making every effort to ensure the academic sport remains a priority for the Newark Public Schools.

Militza Diaz Diaz will serve as the Program Coordinator for the middle grades debate conference. She will help train coaches, recruite more schools to join, provide debate packets, run the tournaments, choose the resolution, and help the college intern staff. She'll also continue coaching Technology High School. The league currently has 22 active elementary school programs.

"I have a lifelong commitment to debate," Diaz said. "I've been coaching for the last couple of years, so it was a natural progression to go from being a part time coach to now being a full-time employee with Newark Public Schools for the middle school conference."

Her goals for the year include recruiting more school to join the JUDL family and transitioning middle school students into the high school conference. "I see myself as the entry for a very long relationship with students in the debate community," she said.

Shelton will serve as the Student Activities Coordinator. He will arrange all travel regulations and approvals for the teams, budget and financial issues with the NPS focusing on the high school debate conference. He will put together the trip requests for the high school students for away debate tournaments. Additionally, he will continue to coach University High School and Rutgers University. He said that University High school alumni Carlos Astacio and Elijah Smith are helping to build a long-term program at Rugters Newark.

"I help organize all the schools and provide support to all the teachers and principals for debate," Shelton said.

His goals for year include begin sponsoring a complete debate and speech tournament, continuing to build the league's association with the Catholic forensic league, continue to build national competive debate programs at all schools.

"Our long-term hope is to increase the national profile of Newark Public Schools debate," Shelton said.

Executive Director Brent Farrand, who retired from Newark Public Schools this past spring, will remain as executive director for the league, overseeing all operations for debate with a focus on fund raising.

"I'm planning a very aggressive fund raising campaign that will focus on getting corporate and law firm sponsors for individual tournaments as well as the funding that we've gotten from our loyal foundations in the past," Farrand said.