Uniondale School District Hosts the Long Island Classic Debate Tournament
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK (APRIL 2025)—The Uniondale School District social studies department and debate clubs recently hosted the prestigious Long Island Classic Debate Tournament, sponsored by the American Debate League, at Uniondale High School. Over 650 student-debaters from Long Island, as well as from New York City and Westchester, gathered to compete at the elementary school, middle school and high school levels. New York State Senator Siela A. Bynoe and New York State Assemblyman Michael Durso also attended the event, encouraging students as they showcased their skills and debate prowess.
“Debate builds the essential skills of the 21st century—critical thinking, communication, collaboration and civic literacy—while empowering students to engage deeply with the issues that shape our world,” said Uniondale School District Director of Social Studies David Hollander. “It transforms content into action and students into informed, persuasive citizens.”
The event commenced with an opening ceremony, after which students tackled three rounds of debate focusing on a diverse range of topics. This was followed by a rousing closing ceremony, which celebrated the efforts of all of the students and debate coaches and honored outstanding performances from the day. The Uniondale PTSA also sold snacks throughout the day and raised funds for Uniondale senior PTA scholarships.
“Congratulations to all of the participants and winners,” said Mr. Hollander. “I would like to thank everyone who was involved in this incredible event, from the debaters and their families to our high school security and custodial teams, supportive staff and volunteers. Special appreciation is also expressed to John O’Brien for his indispensable support with audiovisual technology and photography.”
Uniondale School District tallied nine individual speaker awards and six team awards across grade levels. Walnut Street School was the first-place winner of the beginner yellow division, and Lawrence Road Middle School received second-place honors in the overall intermediate division.
“Cheers to our fantastic debate coaches for their hard work all year supporting our debaters,” said Mr. Hollander. “There are so many amazing District educators who helped with this event, but we would like to give special attention to our outstanding coaches Felicia Lamboy from Grand Avenue School, Yvonne Gonzalez from California Avenue School, Roderick Peele from Northern Parkway School, Michael Ambrogio from Smith Street School, Alyssa Borkes from Walnut Street School, Keith Coles from Lawrence Road Middle School, Jonice Scott at Turtle Hook Middle School and Nina Saveth from Uniondale High School.”
The speaker and team awards won by Uniondale School District students are listed below.
Elementary School Speaker Awards
Third Place: Madison Goodwin, Walnut Street School
Fourth Place: Xili Romain, Grand Avenue School
Sixth Place: Camari Coke, California Avenue School
Seventh Place: Jordan Fenner, Grand Avenue School
Eighth Place: Adelina Mercado, Walnut Street School
Ninth Place: Chase Semper, California Avenue School
Tenth Place: Mia Goodwin, Walnut Street School
Elementary School Team Awards
Third Place: Xili Romain, Makenna Williams and Afeeyah Zafarali, Grand Avenue School
Fourth Place: Madison Goodwin, Mia Goodwin and Shayla Roberts, Walnut Street School
Fifth Place: Adrianna Ayala, Kaylee Baires and Gabriella Rodriguez, Northern Parkway School
Sixth Place: Ethan Aguilar Ampuero, Hazel Alvarado Chavez and Adelina Mercado, Walnut Street School
Seventh Place: Jordan Fenner and Brianna Molina Rodriguez, Grand Avenue School
Middle School Speaker Awards
Seventh Place: Kalissi Lleras, Lawrence Road Middle School
High School Speaker Awards
Third Place: Emily Ortiz Ramirez, Uniondale High School
High School Team Awards
Sixth Place: Emily Ortiz Ramirez and Alison Nieto, Uniondale High School
The Walnut Street School debate club won first place in the Long Island Classic Debate Tournament’s beginner yellow division
From left, Uniondale High School debate coach Nina Saveth and Uniondale High School debate members Alison Nieto, Ait-Dahlia Ouamer and Emely Ortiz Ramirez
From left, Uniondale School District Director of Social Studies David Hollander, Northern Parkway School teacher and debate coach Roderick Peele, Northern Parkway Principal Dr. Bilal Polson and Northern Parkway Assistant Principal Dr. Sharifa Jackson at the Long Island Classic Debate Tournament
The top winners of the elementary school team award winners of the Long Island Classic Debate Tournament
The top elementary school speaker award winners of the Long Island Classic Debate Tournament