Deal Speech and Debate Team
Are you looking to be a part of the very best that Deal has to offer? Do you like to read and research about current events? Are you good at developing arguments—both in writing and orally? Maybe you are looking for an after-school activity that meets both virtually and in-person? If you answered yes to more than one of these questions then the Deal speech and debate team may be just the place for you!
The team meets weekly from 3:45-5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays from the end of September until the end of April. Student members must be willing to participate in speech and debate tournaments one Saturday a month against other middle and high school debaters virtually and (pandemic relief allowing later in the spring) in-person at various schools throughout the metro area.
Tryouts for this year’s team will take place Wednesday, September 22, 2021 @3:45 pm via Zoom. Due to the academic rigor of the debate experience, limited coaching resources, and the popularity of the program, tryouts and participation are limited to 7th and 8th grade students only. This will be the only opportunity for tryouts this year with the total number of students accepted limited to 25.
The tryout experience consists of students providing a writing sample while on camera to a prompt arising from this year’s debate topic, “The United States federal government should substantially increase its protection of water resources in the United
States.” For purposes of the tryout students do not need to do research ahead of time nor have any background in water resources. All students trying out must complete a quick application prior to Wednesday. Tryouts are expected to last anywhere from 45-90 minutes. Members of the team will be announced by e-mail on Monday, September 27, 2021.
In June the Deal Speech and Debate team was recognized at the national speech and debate championships as one of the top 5 teams in the United States. Read more about the experience here.
Contact Tim Stroud (tim.stroud@k12.dc.gov) or Melanie Coleman-Jeffries (melanie.coleman@k12.dc.gov) for further information regarding the team.
