Scarborough H.S. Speech, Debate, & Theatre Team

Scarborough H.S. Speech, Debate, & Theatre team was chosen as an exemplar program by the Texas High School project. Led by Dr. Michael Fain, the school with 82% of its students identified as at-risk has achieved tremendous success. The team profile is originally posted here.

Mission:

The mission of Scarborough High School is to provide a high-caliber education that will prepare its students for enrollment in a college/university and entry into the workforce.

Philosophy:

The philosophy behind Scarborough's Speech, Debate, and Theatre program is based the fact that students learn best when engaged in activity. The three subdivisions of the Team's activities - volunteerism, hosting, and competition - are open to all students enabling and encouraging students of all abilities and/intellectual levels to participate as members of the team.

Challenge and Area of Focus: To create a college-bound culture that provides students with opportunities to compete on university campuses throughout the U.S., increase high school completion rates and college attendance, and provide opportunities for first generation students to run a business and serve the community.

The Team has a college-bound mentality that creates an "expectation" that all its members will enroll in college upon their high school graduation. At its first meeting of the year, members are asked to declare the college they plan to attend and posters are created and mounted in the Team"s room to show which schools are being pursued by students.

History: As of 1998, Scarborough had not had a speech/debate/theatre team in 21 years. During that period, the student population at Scarborough changed from 95% Anglo in the late 1970"s to 56% Hispanic, 30% African American, 13% Anglo American, and 1% Asian.

Only 66% of Scarborough graduates complete the course requirements for the Texas scholars program. Similarly, PSAT results show that only 1.9% of Scarborough students were at/above the national math criterion with only 11% being at/above the national verbal criterion.

Without question, the averages for members of the Scarborough Speech, Debate, and Theatre Team indicate a much higher propensity for college success. Since January 1998, 99.9% of students on this Team have graduated with their high school diplomas. The PSAT test scores are significantly higher than the Scarborough population - with 30% being at/above the national math criterion and 50% above the national verbal criterion. 90% are accepted into college and universities. At least 50% have obtained their bachelor degrees.

Implementation:

G. C. Scarborough H. S. (Scarborough) opened in 1968. For its first ten years, Scarborough had sporadic participation in speech/debate competition (i.e. forensics). From 1978 to 1998, there was no forensic program.

In January 1998, Dr. Michael L. Fain agreed to start a forensic program at Scarborough – as long as (1) he did so as a volunteer and (2) the program would be opened to all students, especially the special education population. Between 1998 and 2006, Dr. Fain developed the program while working full-time for ExxonMobil Corporation.

Between its inception in 1998 and today, Scarborough"s Speech, Debate, and Theatre Team (The Team) has flourished – with more than 300 members. The Team has won its University Interscholastic League (U.I.L.) District Speech title for nine consecutive years, been awarded the U.I.L. Region Speech Team Championship on two separate occasions, been ranked in the Top 25 in the U.S. for nine consecutive years, and performed in the final round of the National Catholic Forensic League Grand Nationals and/or the National Forensic League National Tournament six times.

The Team divides its time into three equal segments – volunteering, hosting, and competing. Without question, the most unusual and rewarding segment of time is devoted to volunteering. Each year, members of The Team devote time to orphanages, homeless shelters, and elementary schools. These volunteer efforts enable all students – regardless of speech/debate abilities – to achieve meaningful involvement as Team members.

Every year, periodic discussions are held with members of The Team to capture the lessons learned from a given year of activities. Students and/or faculty review activities and document what will be added permanently to the schedule. While 'winning" is an expected side-benefit of competition, students are unanimous in their view that the volunteer efforts – and hosting of events on Scarborough"s campus – are the two most important parts of their involvement.

The exemplar's schedule of activities has been fully implemented, but there is a strong desire to include more than the 35+ students enabled by each year"s current resources. Goals of the program include:

• To achieve a 100% high school graduation rate.
• To enable 100% of members to attend activities on college/university campuses
• To schedule events so that 100% of members can serve as volunteers in Greater Houston
• To achieve a 90% participation rate when hosting speech/debate events on Scarborough"s campus
• To train 75% of members so they may compete successfully in speech/debate tournaments hosted by college/universities throughout the U.S.

Outcomes:

• Since January 1998, 99.9% of students on this Team have graduated with their high school diplomas.
• The PSAT test scores are significantly higher than the Scarborough population – with 30% being at/above the national math criterion and 50% above the national verbal criterion.
• 90% are accepted into college and universities.
• At least 50% have obtained their bachelor degrees.
• The retention rate is 40% for 9th graders, 50% for sophomores, 60% for juniors, and 75% for seniors.
• The high school graduation rate is 100%.
• The college acceptance rate exceeds 90% each year.
• To date, more than 50% of those who attend colleges/universities have completed their bachelor"s degrees.

Other positive impacts on participating students

• Alumni of this program serve as contest judges and chaperones for the annual schedule of events.
• Members of The Team consider volunteerism to be one of the primary obligations of the organization – with regular service projects in orphanages, homeless shelters, and Houston elementary schools.
• Team members are encouraged to meet authors of literature they perform in speech contests. By meeting authors, team members grow in their understanding of literature and the life experiences that underlie selections.

Lessons Learned:

• The Scarborough Speech, Debate, and Theatre Team plans to enhance development of a forensic academy at its school – increasing the number of Team members from 35+ per year to 70+. This past August 2006, the academy was named 'The Accelerated Collaborative Education (ACE) Academy" – which will enable Houston I.S.D. students to attend Scarborough and join programs of The Team. No similar academy exists in Houston I.S.D.
• In terms of resources, current plans for The Team"s offices include Scarborough"s purchase and installations of a set of five computers and printers – to enable faster and more comprehensive research for students who compete in debate and extemporaneous speaking events.
• The above computers will also be used to enable all Scarborough students to access and communicate with college/university resources. This computer use will bring all 180+ Scarborough seniors into the Team"s offices throughout a school year.

Partnerships:

• The University of Houston Forensic Society provides over 50+ volunteers (giving 750+ hours annually) to this organization, fulfilling the need for expert judging at a state-qualifying tournament held in November of each year.
• ExxonMobil Corporation provides 15+ volunteers each year, offering professional critiques for competitors, chaperones, and judges for contests hosted/attended by The Team. These volunteer services fulfill requirements for $7K in annual grants awarded by ExxonMobil Corporation to The Team.