National Speech & Debate Association Announces 2021-2022 Leading Chapter Awards
This is the highest recognition a speech and debate charter school can earn.
DES MOINES, IOWA (October 4, 2022) — The National Speech & Debate Association is proud to award one chapter from each competition district with this year’s Leading Chapter Awards. Only approximately 3% of schools are recognized as Leading Chapter Award winners.
“This award, which is based on student participation, represents a tremendous dedication to speech and debate education,” said Executive Director J. Scott Wunn. “Our Leading Chapter schools understand the importance of speech and debate, and the life changing benefits of the activity. We are proud to recognize these hard-working schools with this coveted honor.”
Each year the top chapter in accumulated members and degrees, not more than one per district, receives the Leading Chapter Award; then its accumulated total returns to zero and it begins a new record. Each school must wait at least five years before being eligible for the award again.
Leading Chapter schools are recognized based on student participation throughout the school year. Schools earning the Leading Chapter Award must have previously achieved Charter School Status in the National Speech & Debate Association. These speech and debate programs serve as an inspiration for new speech and debate teams around the United States.
“Speech and debate advances communication skills, develops interpersonal skills, improves reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking, and prepares students for college, careers, and beyond,” said Wunn. “Nowhere is this more evident than our Leading Chapter schools.”
The 2021-22 Leading Chapter Award winners:
The Montgomery Academy – Mockingbird
Har-Ber High School – Arkansas
BASIS Peoria – Arizona
Bear Creek High School – Big Valley (CA)
The Harker School – Calif. Coast (CA)
John F. Kennedy High School – Capitol Valley (CA)
Alhambra High School – East Los Angeles (CA)
Dougherty Valley High School – San Fran Bay (CA)
Orosi High School – Sierra (CA)
Redlands High School – Southern California
Loyola High School – West Los Angeles (CA)
Cherry Creek High School – Colorado
Resurrection Christian School – Rocky Mountain-North (CO)
Regis Jesuit High School – Rocky Mountain-South (CO)
TCA – Colorado Grande
Delta High School – Western Slope (CO)
West Broward High School – Florida Manatee
Wellington Community High School – Florida Oceanfront
Paul J Hagerty High School – Florida Panther
Newsome High School – Florida Sunshine
Ransom Everglades School – Florida Flamingo
Midtown High School – Georgia Northern Mountain
Fayette County High School – Georgia Southern Peach
Mount Carmel School – Pacific Islands
Parker School – Hawaii
Wood River High School – Idaho Gem of the Mountain
Bonneville High School – Idaho Mountain River
University High School – Greater Illinois
Naperville Central High School – Illinois(IL)
Prospect High School – Northern Illinois
McCutcheon High School – Hoosier Heartland (IN)
Fishers High School – Hoosier Crossroads (IN)
Bethany Christian High School – Northeast Indiana
Munster High School – Northwest Indiana
Grinnell High School – East Iowa
CAM High School – West Iowa
Lansing High School – East Kansas
Topeka High School – Kansas Flint-Hills
Wichita Collegiate Upper School – Sunflower (KS)
Chanute High School – South Kansas
Louisburg High School – Three Trails (KS)
Moundridge High School – West Kansas
Larry A Ryle High School – Kentucky
John Paul The Great Academy – Louisiana
Dirigo High School – Maine
Portage Public School – Michigan
Jackson-Reed High School – Chesapeake (MD)
Stillwater Area High School – Central Minnesota
St Michael Albertville High School – Northern Lights (MN)
Eagan High School – Southern Minnesota
St Andrew’s Episcopal School – Magnolia (MS)
Carthage High School – Carver-Truman (MO)
Columbia-Hickman High School – Eastern Missouri
Liberty Sr High School – Heart Of America (MO)
Parkview High School – Ozark (MO)
Lee’s Summit North – Show Me (MO)
Great Falls High School – Montana East
Glacier High School – Montana West
Westside High School – Nebraska
Lincoln Southeast High School – Nebraska South
Ed W. Clark High School – Golden Desert (NV)
Sage Ridge School – Sagebrush (NV)
Lexington High School – New England (MA & NH)
Millburn High School – New Jersey
Eldorado High School – New Mexico
Mount Mercy Academy – Iroquois (NY)
Stuyvesant High School – New York City
Durham Academy – Carolina East (NC)
The Bronx High School Of Science – Hudson Valley (NY)
Charlotte Catholic High School – Carolina West (NC)
Fargo North High School – North Dakota Roughrider
Stow-Munroe Falls High School – Eastern Ohio
Hawken School – North Coast (OH)
South Range High School – Northern Ohio
Perrysburg High School – Western Ohio
Owasso High School – East Oklahoma
Norman North High School – West Oklahoma
Lincoln High School – North Oregon
South Medford High School – South Oregon
Greater Latrobe High School – Pennsylvania
Oakland Catholic High School – Pittsburgh (PA)
Holy Ghost Prep – Valley Forge (PA)
Riverside High School – South Carolina
Watertown High School – Northern South Dakota
Stevens High School – Rushmore (SD)
Jefferson County High School – Tennessee
Claudia Taylor Johnson High School – Central Texas
Northland Christian School – East Texas
W B Ray High School – Gulf Coast (TX)
Westlake High School – Heart Of Texas
Wylie Sr High School – LBJ (TX)
Plano Sr High School – Lone Star (TX)
Clark High School – North Texas Longhorns
Elkins High School – South Texas
Cy-Fair High School – Space City (TX)
Midland Legacy High School – Tall Cotton (TX)
Lindale High School – UIL (TX)
Franklin High School – West Texas
Caney Creek High School – Yellow Rose (TX)
Skyline High School – Great Salt Lake (UT)
Stansbury High School – Sundance (UT)
Logan High School – Utah-Wasatch
Dominion High School – Virginia
Wenatchee High School – Inland Empire (WA)
The Bear Creek School – Puget Sound (WA)
Wheeling Park High School – West Virginia
Auburn Riverside High School – Western Washington
James Madison Memorial High School – Northern Wisconsin
West Bend East High School – Southern Wisconsin
Buffalo High School – Hole In The Wall (WY)
Rock Springs High School – Wind River (WY)
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The National Speech & Debate Association is the authority on public speaking and debate in the United States. The Association builds the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world by providing topics, educational resources, and training for students and coaches. For nearly 100 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has built a platform for youth voices that culminates in the National Tournament, the largest academic competition in the world. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.
This year the NJSDL will be honoring ‘Vinnie’ Borelli with the Borelli Masterclass & Introductory Workshop Festival on October 29th at Summit High School. This ‘festival’ will feature student and coach-led workshops targeted at new students, parents, and coaches to the speech and debate world. Everyone is invited. If coaches or students are coming just to observe, there is no fee. Please see the invitation for more details!
NSDA has hired a new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Paul Porter.
Dr. Paul Porter joined the national office in 2022. He holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from Ball State University, an M.A. in Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Eastern Michigan University, as well as a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University. Paul has worked on the development of programs and initiatives designed to help create inclusive environments for diverse student populations, as well as diversity strategic plans and program assessments. Paul has presented on topics such as multicultural competence and unconscious bias across the state of Indiana and nationwide.
Paul’s involvement in speech and debate began at Ben Davis High School where he was a two-time NSDA national finalist in 1997. Paul was also a national finalist at the 2000 National Forensic Association tournament and has coached at both the high school and college levels. In 2017, Paul coached a national finalist in Original Oratory at Ben Davis and most recently served as an assistant coach at Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Paul is already putting together so many ready-to-use resources for district committees including the work he is doing to transform the Equity Office to a new resource called the Belonging and Inclusion Advocacy Station (BIAS) for use during district tournaments and the National Tournament. The BIAS facilitates a more streamlined process for intake and course of action for incidents involving harassment and discrimination.
Tuesday, September 13: Springboard Scrimmage #1 with asynchronous speech and live debate. One round will be offered. Round 1 will be at 6:00 p.m. CT. Rising stars and open divisions of all speech and debate events will be offered. Check out the full schedule!
