LBUSD MEP Wins Big at Speech Competition

The Long Beach Unified School District's Migrant Education students have brought pride and joy to the district for being a top winner at the annual Los Angeles County Office of Education's Migrant Education Program Speech Competition.

On Saturday, March 15, 2025, the Los Angeles County Office of Education hosted its 7th annual Migrant Education Program Regional Speech and Debate Tournament, with nearly 100 students from different school districts competing in individually prepared and extemporaneous speech and debate team categories. This year marked the highest number of Migrant Education Program (MEP) students representing Long Beach Unified as a total of 28 LBUSD MEP students, grades 6th -12th represented several Long Beach secondary schools and competed in different sessions in either English or Spanish for a day full of excitement and competition.  

LBUSD students diligently prepared over the past three months, leading to the awarding of multiple trophies. There were 31 individual speech winners and one first-place debate high school team, marking a historic victory and a new benchmark for excellence in the tournament. LBUSD MEP has won the highest number of awards for the fifth consecutive year, reflecting the students' outstanding talent and dedication as they have refined their research, writing, and public speaking skills. As a result, the official Los Angeles County Speech & Debate Team will include 12 LBUSD MEP students (5 high school debate students and seven individual speech students from high school and middle school). The Los Angeles County Team will compete in the State Speech and Debate Tournament in Monterey, California, May 2-4, 2025. It is noteworthy that last year, the Los Angeles County S&D Team placed 2nd in the State Tournament among 21 regions in California.

The success of LBUSD's MEP students would not be possible without the commitment of their outstanding coaches, Michael Prado from Millikan and Oscar Herrera and Ted Hollister from Wilson. These coaches embody the Adult Portrait of Vision 2035, and their dedication and guidance played a crucial role in preparing the students for the competition. MEP specialist Martha Ensminger at LBUSD echoes the students' incredible achievement, stating, "this remarkable accomplishment is a testament to our student's academic preparedness and perseverance and the unwavering dedication of our educators, staff, and families. Their success continues to inspire and elevate the standards of excellence in our district."

Congratulations to all the students and staff involved in the Migrant Education Program on this wonderful achievement. We wish them success at the upcoming State and Speech Debate Tournament.