mEET OUR FACULTY
We are in the process of confirming our 2024 Faculty and will update this page as faculty are confirmed.
Our team is made up of some of the best teachers, former debaters, and graduating seniors in the country. All staff and instructors are only hired after a thorough background check that includes county criminal checks, national criminal checks, and cleared from the National Sexual Offenders Registry. In addition, before each annual camp, each member of Summit Debate’s team has completed training on Harassment Prevention, including education on the policies of Summit Debate for appropriate workplace behavior.
Read more below about how we have our instructors work with our students.
HOW DOES SPEECH WORK?
The National Speech Forum operates at a fundamentally different level. Other camps are comprised of small groups (known as “labs”), where students only interact with a few students, and a couple of coaches.
Allowing for autonomy, and encouraging creativity are two hallmarks of NSF: Interp and NSF: Oratory, and have helped inform the direction of our curriculum. Our camp is radically different.
Once a student has chosen their piece of literature with the help of all of our faculty, they will rotate through all coaches via one-on-one online sessions in order to receive a multitude of perspectives so that the message and story they share is truly their own.
Additionally, with sessions are online, we have the ability to bring in part-time or guest coaches to cater to the specific needs of each of our students. Last year, we had guest coaches that had won NSDA Nationals, NCFL Nationals and the Tournament of Champions.
HOW DOES DEBATE WORK?
Our debate labs are separated by skill level. Every debate lab has a senior staff as an anchor leading the day to day operations. Our senior staff are typically head debate coaches at high schools in various areas of the country. These individuals have been all coaching high school debate and/or working at the National Debate Forum for at least three years. These individuals will be leading individual labs and responsible for executing the camp’s curriculum in lab.
Every lab also has two junior lab leaders - either a junior lab leader and a first year out instructor or two first year out instructors. Our junior staff are all either assistant debate coaches around the country or some of the most successful former debaters. These instructors have at least one summer of experience - most at the National Debate Forum. While our junior staff are typically rising sophomores or juniors at some of the most prestigious universities around the country, many are looking for summer internships. This page will be constantly updated until June when all of our Junior Instructors are hired. Last summer, we had more than twenty junior instructors.
Our lab leaders don’t rotate at the National Debate Forum because we believe lab time is crucial to developing a working relationship to fine tune their strengths in debate. Outside of lab, students will hear lectures and seminars from all the first year out staff where they will share what made them successful. There is also time dedicated EVERY DAY that allows your students one on one time with any first year out staff member to help work on their INDIVIDUALIZED curriculum.
