Students from Migrant Education Program (MEP) Region 10 earned 16 trophies at the 2025 Migrant Education State Speech & Debate Tournament, held May 2-4 in Monterey. The event, hosted in partnership with the California Department of Education, brought together more than 350 students from 18 MEP regions across the state.

MEP Region 10 fielded 32 students in grades 6 through 12, representing seven school districts: ABC Unified School District (ABCUSD), El Monte City School District (EMCSD), Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD), Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD) and Palmdale School District (PSD).

The tournament was livestreamed on YouTube, allowing families, educators and community members across the state to cheer on students and celebrate their accomplishments in real time.

Eleven chaperones, including district and county MEP Region 10 staff and speech coaches, provided mentorship and support throughout the weekend.

MEP Region 10 students earned a total of 16 trophies:

• First place: 4
• Second place: 6
• Third place: 6

Top performances included:

• Jazmin Benitez-Ramos (EMCSD, Grade 7) — first place, Prepared Speech (Spanish)
• Juliet Torres-Carbajal (LBUSD, Grade 8) — first place, Extemporaneous Speech (Spanish)
• The high school Spanish Debate team from NLMUSD — first place
• The high school English Debate team from LBUSD — first place

Additional students from LBUSD, NLMUSD and ABCUSD earned multiple top-three finishes in both English and Spanish divisions.

Trophies by district:

• LBUSD: 9
• NLMUSD: 4
• EMCSD: 2
• ABCUSD: 1

Congratulations to all MEP 10 students, educators and staff for this outstanding achievement.

To learn more about the Migrant Education Program and how it supports students and families across Los Angeles County, visit our MEP Region 10 page.