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The Robert Treat Academy student debate team and Stand and Deliver program participants finished their seasons with impressive results this year, demonstrating how well their education has prepared them to succeed at academic-based competition.
The debate team finished fourth overall in the Jersey Urban Debate League, in which 23 Newark middle schools competed in 1,125 debates this year. Trophies were awarded June 10 at an awards ceremony at Science Park High School to 68 experienced debaters with teams that had six or more wins including Maple Avenue, Peshine Avenue and Robert Treat Academy.
Robert Treat was one of the "Elite Eight" schools, which accumulated enough points during the season to be one of the overall top-performing schools. As a result, Robert Treat was invited to send a team of experienced debaters to compete in a special post-season tournament. Representing their school were sixth grader Nick Ayala and seventh grader
Alejandro Sheppard. Despite their preparation and best efforts, they were nudged out by a pair of debaters from Peshine after the first round.
"We're proud of the accomplishments of our debate team," said Robert Treat principal Michael Pallante. "The students worked hard all year preparing for these debates and their hard work paid off."
Adrianne Davis, the vice president of the Robert Treat Academy board of trustees, said she is proud of all the students who participated in the student debate and Stand and Deliver program.
"The ability to stand in front of a group of judges and eloquently defend a position can be intimidating," Davis said. "The skills these students learned will serve them well as they continue their education after Robert Treat Academy."
On Tuesday, April 20, two teams of seventh and eighth-grade students competed in the group category
during the Stand and Deliver Night of All-Stars. They had to present their plan to improve or solve a community issue.
One group demonstrated ways to handle "bullying" and the other how to reduce the stray pet population. The group calling itself NASSA (Neutering and Spaying of Stray Animals) won in the middle-school division and spent the next four weeks sharpening their presentation for the Stand and Deliver Night of Eloquence held at Nanina's in the Park May 18.
Hosted by Stand and Deliver founder Steve Adubato, Jr., the Night of Eloquence featured only the performances of the groups and individuals who won during the Night of All-Stars. Attendees included friends and family members as well as numerous corporate sponsors who helped fund the program. All winners, who received gift cards, gained a valuable experience to include on their student activity record.
Since January, participants have been meeting for two hours a week and following a curriculum that focuses on various aspects of leadership and public speaking, including non-verbal communication skills such as eye contact and body movement. More than 20 RTA students were broken into three groups that researched a community issue and wrote a proposal for change. Topics included controlling the stray pet population, bullying, and school-based recycling.
The NASSA group (Neutering and Spaying of Stray Animals) decided one solution for domestic animal overpopulation was to collect money to donate to established organizations, such as the Humane Societies, that were already successful in their mission. Their project, titled Controlling Strays With Spare Change, involves an appeal for monetary support and targets Newark citizens over the age of 17.
NASSA was lead by seventh-graders Thomas Villafane and Bryanna Mercado and included their classmates Gloribel Hernandez, Seaunna Fortenberry, and Taylor Leake. Eighth-grader Solei Maldonado also supported the group.
"I enjoyed having the freedom to choose an issue that matters to me and work with my peers to prepare a plan that could result in a change in our community," said Thomas Villafane.
"BAPP" is the acronym for the group advocating for a school-based "Bullying Awareness and Prevention Program." Their project title Pushed Into Making the Right Choices featured a skit which demonstrated how a bullying incident usually begins and ends, and how it could end better when more people understand their options as a victim or a bystander. Their idea was to provide school districts with a "skit kit" including a skit script that teachers could use to involve students in their character education curriculum.
The BAPP team was led by eighth-graders Jennifer Hernandez and Danay-jah Baxter and included classmates Jamely Nieves, and Caitlin Feliciano. Seventh-grade participants were Kahiya McDaniels, Christina McKenzie, Ebony Hubbard, and Kenyetta Lionel.
Both teams included Powerpoint slides in their presentation. The third team, which proposed a school-based recycling program, was unable to attend the competition.
Debate coach John Feinstein and Heather Brookhart of Jaffe Communications contributed to this report.
