I teach at a public charter school in Crown Heights that serves 400 phenomenal Black and/or Latino students, 75% of whom qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch.
Esmeralda is an extraordinary sophomore who has been competing in Declamation since her first week of high school. She has taken on a new leadership role this year as Declamation captain, spending many hours each week training novice freshmen and sophomores. It means so much to me to watch her not only push herself but also grow into this new leadership role....and as a sophomore!
Last year at States, there were exactly four people of color in the Extemp Prep Room, and three of them were my students. Through their hard work, my students, who are all people of color and most of whom come from low-income families, are literally changing the face of what Speech & Debate looks like on the state and national circuit. Not only will their commitment pay off academically because of the benefits of acquiring research and public speaking skills, but perhaps more importantly, competing at elite tournaments like the State Championship will help my students develop the confidence and determination they will need throughout their whole lives to compete to their fullest potential even in predominantly White spaces and institutions.
In Their Own Words
By going to States, we will be getting more experience and hopefully advancing to elimination rounds. This matters to us because we have worked so hard and we want to see results. Going to States is our way of proving to ourselves as anybody else, even though we are from an inner-city public school.
By coaching freshmen and sophomores who just joined the team, I can better my own self and also help them. Coaching helps bring me out of my boundaries because I know how to better interact with people. As a rising junior, I am looking forward to working with new people and new freshmen and helping them break their boundaries.
By going to States, we will be putting ourselves in an environment that is systematically against us because as people of color, we are the minority in the majority. By advancing to elimination rounds, we would be making our public school known and representing it well and we would be proving to ourselves that the work that we put in actually pays off.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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