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Brookings High School debate team presents to board; district recognizes Madera Elementary autism staff
Summary
Students from Brookings High School’s speech and debate team described program size, tournaments and mentorship efforts; the board also presented a Best Award to Madera Elementary autism‑specialty room staff for their work with students.
The Brookings School District board heard a presentation from the Brookings High School speech and debate team and honored staff from Madera Elementary.
Students introduced themselves and outlined the program: the team has roughly 100 debate members and 30 interpretation members; it hosts 4–5 tournaments a year that attract about 400 students, coaches and parents. Student leaders said the program has qualified for the national speech and debate tournament many times (the presentation referenced "62 times") and emphasized outreach, mentorship and a new "Unified Speech" category that pairs peer mentors with special education students for performances.
The board also presented a Best Award to staff in Madera Elementary’s autism specialty room (Libby Peterson; Vicky Thompson; Brianna Ringling; Lacey DeBerg; Kelly Calgary; Danielle Peterson; Isabella Layman) and praised their work: "You're dedicated to children and you show them genuine love each and every day," the board president said.
The team noted coach vacancies and said it is increasing outreach to younger students and offering mentorship and judge opportunities to support tournaments. Board members commended the students’ civic skills and said the program contributes to students’ public‑speaking and research abilities.
