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How one principal used debate to turn a failing middle school around

Debate is infused into every subject, including math

October 8, 2025 (cbsnews.com) – “At Middle School 50 in Brooklyn, New York, principal Benjamin Honoroff and his students are pumped to start the day — a dramatic transformation from when he came in a decade ago.

‘We were on a list of persistently dangerous schools, and there’d been some pretty drastic enrollment decline from over a thousand students to 160 students,’ Honoroff said.

But the former high school debate coach had an idea. He took a chance and integrated debate into every class, across all grade levels. He also expanded the debate team, and a third of the students enrolled with a select group traveling to tournaments.

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