Debate Team Starts Year with Highest National Recognition, Shines at First Competition

The Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School Debate Team has earned the 2022-2023 Leading Chapter Award. This coveted honor, based on student participation throughout the school year, is the highest recognition the school can receive from the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA).

 

Only the top school in accumulated members and degrees per district earns this designation each year, and each school must wait at least five years before being eligible again. Out of more than 3,000 member schools nationwide, Cranbrook is one of only 108 to receive the Leading Chapter Award.

 

According to the NSDA, the award “reflects 256 members and degrees over 50 years. In that time, several hundred students have been taught communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills through speech and debate. The Leading Chapter Award serves as an indication of your relentless dedication to these students and to speech and debate education. Your efforts truly embody our mission to empower youth. Congratulations on this remarkable achievement!”

 

Meanwhile, the debate team traveled to West Bloomfield for the first in-person Michigan Scholastic Forensic Association (MIFA) competition since the COVID-19 pandemic. The team was dominant, earning -

 

Speaking Awards:

 Novice Team Awards:

 

Congratulations to the entire team on the outstanding performance and well-deserved recognition!