I hadn’t, but that’s part of the joy of elementary school debate. These students are extremely excited and are building their own culture and their own definition of what debate means for them and why it excites them. 

ES Debate came about a few years ago thanks to Coach Kip Plaisted (Stuart Hobson). He wasn’t satisfied that he had one of the largest and most successful Middle School debate teams in the country (which has now been in the semi-finals or better of Middle School Nationals for four years in a row). He wasn’t satisfied that they are the only Middle School team to ever win the WUDL Sweepstakes Cup. He wasn’t satisfied with a team with a strong team culture that was set up for long term success. And he wasn’t satisfied that he’d won all of the Coaching Awards we provide!

Many schools try to work with their feeder patterns, trying to get incoming students excited and ready for the next step in their academic journey. Coach Plaisted wanted in on the action, working with his school’s elementary school students and get them excited to join the Hobson debate team the following Fall. We’ve supported him during the COVID era to do some great pilot programs in his feeder pattern, but have gotten more ambitious now that we’re back in person.  

Last year, we brought in two new schools to start growing the program outside the Capitol Hill Cluster, and last Fall, we expanded the program further with several new schools participating. This Spring, everything came together for an explosion of growth. We had almost 90 students, about triple the number who participated in the Fall. 

ES students debated solutions to homelessness, centered on reading an age appropriate book, “A Duet For Home.” The tournament was judged by existing WUDL debaters, many middle and high school students getting their first opportunity to get behind the table and judge instead of being the competitors themselves. 

Ludlow Taylor, coached by 4th year veteran ES Debate Coach and Spanish Teacher Miranda Metheny, and the Fall champions, Shepherd ES, had developed a bit of a friendly rivalry coming in, but a bunch of our new programs had something to say about that, with Janney, Mann, and Francis Stevens all winning awards as well. 

We had four undefeated teams, with Janney’s Ethan and Dillan edging out Mann’s Simran and Maya, Ludlow’s Eve and Maia, and Mann’s Emily and Lucia. 

We want to shout out every school’s top performers: 

• Bruce Monroe: Elena (debating alone)
• Francis Stevens: Ruby and Jessica
• Janney: Dillan and Ethan
• Ludlow Taylor: Maia and Eve
• Mann: Simran and Maya
• Neval Thomas: Amir and Akeem
• Shepherd: Julian and Isaiah
• Yu Ying: Teddy and Paul

Beyond the competition, this is one of the few programs that gets Elementary School students together across the city to discuss their ideas and build community with one another. Whether they’re strutting their stylish shirts, such as the Francis Stevens team, doing the Macarena (Ludlow Taylor), or having a last minute huddle with parent / coach Eric Helgen (Mann), or focused on snacks (Neval Thomas), each team is building their own traditions and culture. 

We’re excited to see these young scholars move up to debate in Middle School, with many signed up already for the Matthew Harris Ornstein Summer Debate Institute. We expect to further expand the program with more schools and more students in the Fall. Coach Plaisted has already chosen a book, so stay tuned!

Great job to the debaters, and welcome to the WUDL family! 

Shout out to all the great older students who helped out as judges: Stephan, Ajibola, Olu, Margaret, Tahvi, Ruth, Nadia, Bridget, Dorian, Mahder, Dhilan, Charly, Eric, Amelia, Claudia, Arielle, Fiona, Sangeeth, Parker, Hiba, Alex, Jamess, Amberly, Victoria, Mina, Jonaiyah, Amira, Zeve, Madison, Marshall, and Sarah!