100 students argue their positions in a fast-paced competition

WHO:            DPS students
                      Judges made up of Dayton community leaders and DPS personnel
                      Facilitators
                      Dayton Board of Education
        
WHAT:  Teams square-off in a series of round-robin debates on topics that ask    students in grades six to eight whether school suspension is an effective means of discipline, and ask students in grades nine to 12 high if teachers in Ohio should be allowed to carry weapons in the classroom. The winners move on to the final round, where the middle school group will debate whether students should be allowed to use digital devices in the classroom and the high school group will debate whether Ohio should ban standardized testing.

WHEN:          Round-robin – 9 a.m. — Noon
                       Championship round — Noon — 3 p.m.
                       Saturday, April 16, 2016

WHERE:        Thurgood Marshall STEM High School
                         4447 Hoover Ave.

INFO:  Nearly 100 students will participate from 12 PreK-8 schools and four high schools. Teams consist of three to eight students per team. Each debate has a 26-minute limit. Opening remarks are set for 9 a.m. The round-robin competition starts at 9:30 a.m. with finals for middle school students at noon and 12:30 p.m. for high school students. The championship rounds begin at 1 p.m. The award ceremony is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. Students began preparing for the competition in October 2015, taking part in practice debates that led up to Saturday’s competition. The debate is free and open to the public.

                                                                                  -30-