On Monday night, parents received the opportunity to learn about the debate program here at Blue Valley Southwest. There were roughly 63 parents in attendance.

Debate is a big deal at this school and has seen tremendous growth from the time when our school first opened to now. During the first year, the program only started as a squad of 32. As of this year, there is around 115 to 120 students involved. In 2007, the Blue Valley School district was ranked 10 in the state of Kansas. Now the district is number two.

Jared Zuckerman has been coaching debate and forensics for ten years. He previously taught at Blue Valley North but switched to BVSW after it opened. Throughout his years of experience, some things have become apparent.

“At the end of the year, most of the debate students will say they learned a lot whether they decide to continue with the class or not,” Zuckerman said. “One of the best ways to support them at home is to ask questions on the case at the dinner table.”

He also added some humor to his informational meeting. It was a way to keep the parents’ attention during what would normally be just a lecture.

“This year our topic is should America have relations with Latin America. You may not know anything about debate, but you probably know more about the Cuban Embargo than they do,” Zuckerman said. “I swear I lost more money on the job last year than I actually made.”

As it is a new program, they do not have limitless resources. Any kind of help is greatly appreciated. The booster club supports most of the program. They also do many extra activities, like bringing in coaches from the University of Kansas to help and booster dues help go towards it.

You can find more information about the Southwest Debate team on Twitter. (https://mobile.twitter.com/BVSWDebate?p=s)