John Tyler granted charter membership in National Speech and Debate Association

Published 9:16 pm Monday, February 29, 2016

John Tyler High School has been granted charter membership in the National Speech and Debate Association.

Over the past three years, John Tyler High School has earned more than 50 degrees for outstanding participation in speech and debate activities. This is the highest school membership honor within the NSDA, according to a Tyler ISD news release.

“John Tyler High School is very proud of this prestigious honor,” Principal Dr. Kenneth Gay said. Debate coach/teacher April Caldwell “has done a phenomenal job with our campus speech and debate program over the past three years,” he said.

Schools earn charter membership status after receiving at least 50 degrees within a three-year period. Students and coaches earn points for competition and service through the NSDA’s Honor Society. More points earn higher degrees of recognition.

Every school within the NSDA is designated a provisional chapter, member chapter or charter chapter. Each status determines voting privileges, a district’s strength of chapters and number of qualifiers to the annual national speech and debate tournament.

“Charter membership reflects sustained commitment to speech and debate,” said J. Scott Wunn, executive director of the NSDA. “We are extremely proud of our charter schools, coaches and students for their hard work and passion for speech and debate.”

The NSDA is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school and collegiate students in the United States. The association provides competitive speech and debate activities, high-quality resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities and advanced recognition to more than 150,000 students and coaches every year.

For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.