UPDATE: Manual is sending the brother-sister team of Teague and Theron Harrison to the national urban debate league championships in New York next month, after the pair cleaned up at least weekend’s Denver championships. Manual student Jessica Keys also played a starring role, taking the prize as first-place speaker. Congratulations to the team and coach Charlie Smith.
Melanie Asmar at Westword has written a superb piece on the Manual High School Denver Urban Debate League, focusing on super-smart siblings Teague and Theron Harrison. I hung around the debate team during its inaugural season a couple of years ago and it was clear back then that if they could harness their energies, the Harrisons had the smarts to go places.
Here is my story on the Manual debate team from the fall of 2008. Asmar’s piece is comprehensive. This weekend the Manual team and the Harrisons will be competing in the Denver city championship, vying for a spot in the national tournament next month in New York City.
Kudos to Manual teacher Charlie Smith, the debate coach, and to the kids who have made the program a success against some tough odds. Go, Thunderbolts!
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Thank you Alan! There are a lot of great things going on at Manual and our Urban Debate Students, Mr. Smith, and the parent volunteers that assist reflect our commitment to making great things happen with the great students that we are able to serve.
While in Boulder last week, I glanced at two familiar faces gracing the cover of Westword. I have had the real pleasure to hang out with Teague and her brother, including some long days and nights as part of another program that impacted them as freshman. So cool to see so many kids in that article I have gotten to know, over the past several years, doing well! And our organization, The Bold leaders Project is very proud to have Charlie Smith as a part of our team that will be taking some Denver area teens, ( including two Manual students), on a month long leadership and cross cultural training program to Kenya. We will also have him up in the mountains with us next week, during his spring break, as we work with teens from four African countries as part of a US State Dept. program.
Ironically, several days before the article, Charlie mentioned that Manual may have to let him go and he may be looking for other employment.