Boston students earn honors at Urban Debate National Championships

BOSTON – Students from the Academy of Public Service (APS) at the Dorchester Education Complex earned honors at the Chase Urban Debate National Championship last week in Chicago. The three-day tournament, hosted by the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, featured top competitors from more than 20 urban debate leagues from major cities around the country.

Tyrell Carter of Dorchester, a junior at the Academy of Public Service, was named the ninth best speaker in the country, among the 80 high school students competing this year. Tyrell and his debate partner Julio Lanzo, also a junior from Dorchester, finished in the top 20 teams in the nation.

Also competing from the Boston Debate League was a team from the Josiah Quincy Upper School: Frezzella Cullinane of the South End, a senior, and Jason Mak of Brighton, a junior. Only 40 of the more than 300 high school teams from around the country are invited to the national finals. While in Chicago, the students visited the DuSable Museum of African-American History and attended a reception at the Art Institute of Chicago. The coaches of the debate teams, Locksley Bryan (APS) and Richard Chang (Quincy Upper), accompanied the students on the trip.

“Our students represented Boston proudly,” said Steve Stein, Executive Director of the Boston Debate League. “Three of our students have been debating for only two years and held their own against seniors from other leagues who have been debating since they were freshmen, and in some cases, since junior high. For a young league to have a speaker in the top ten, and a team in the top twenty is truly an impressive feat. These achievements are a testament to the hard work of our students, the dedication of their coaches, and the support they receive from Boston Public Schools. They will be the future leaders of our city and our country.”

Volunteers started the Boston Debate League in 2005 with three participating schools. Last year, Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, committed 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.

For more information about the Chase Urban Debate National Championship, visit www.urbandebate.org/chasenational.shtml.

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

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured at the Chase Urban Debate National Championship in Chicago are (left to right) Jason Mak and Frezzella Cullinane from Quincy Upper School, Tyrell Carter and Julio Lanzo from the Academy of Public Service.