Boston students to compete in Urban Debate National Championship

BOSTON – Four Boston Public Schools students are heading to Chicago next month to compete in the Chase Urban Debate National Championship. The three-day tournament features top competitors from more than 20 Urban Debate Leagues from major cities around the country.

Tyrell Carter and Julio Lanzo, both of Dorchester, are juniors at the Academy of Public Service (APS) in the Dorchester Education Complex. Frezzella Cullinane of the South End (pictured here), a senior, and Jason Mak of Brighton, a junior, are both students at the Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS) in Chinatown/South End.

The APS team competed in the national championship last year as well, earning a spot in the "Elite Eight."  Julio also received a scholarship to attend a summer debate camp at Emory University. The team was invited to the national tournament this year as the Boston Debate League’s top seed for achieving the best record during the regular season, culminating with the Varsity City Championship title. The JQUS team defeated seven of the best teams in the Boston Debate League in a special round robin tournament to earn a spot as the second Boston team in nationals.

Volunteers started the Boston Debate League in 2005 with three participating schools. In 2008, Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, pledged district funding for the league, which has expanded to include eight BPS schools. Today, hundreds of Boston public high school students participate, spending countless hours outside the regular school day researching, studying, and debating alternative energy technologies, which is the topic for this year’s competitions.

“We are so proud of these students and know they will represent Boston well in the national championship,” said Dr. Johnson. “Debate quickly has become such a popular and engaging activity in many of our high schools. Competitive academic debate cultivates the critical thinking and communications skills and helps build the confidence that students will need to succeed in college and career.”

The students will be accompanied by Richard Chang, history teacher and debate coach at JQUS; Locksley Bryan, math teacher and debate coach at APS; and Steve Stein, Executive Director of the Boston Debate League. While in Chicago, the students also will participate in cultural events, including museum visits and a tour of the city, as well as conference sessions with other debaters from around the country.

The Chase Urban Debate National Championship, sponsored by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, will take place April 23-26. For more information, visit www.urbandebate.org/chasenational.shtml.

For more information about the Boston Debate League, visit www.bostondebate.org.