Learning how to comfortably speak in front of other people can unlock a world of opportunities — and it’s fun!

Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate returns to the Hillsboro Public Library for the 2025-26 school year, starting on Sunday, September 22.

Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate (grades 5 – 8)
3^rd Sundays, 4 – 5 pm (September through May)
Brookwood Library

 Sign up here for Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate

Among several changes from its first-year launch in 2024-25, the program will now meet on 3^rd Sundays at Brookwood Library, and students in grades 5 through 8 are invited to participate. With Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate, students:

• talk about the basic elements of public speaking and debating
• practice and grow their confidence and experience
• connect with other students in small groups and work together
• listen to guest speakers share their wisdom from their own speaking skills and experiences

The program is led by City of Hillsboro Communications Manager Patrick Preston, who competed as a high school student in Lincoln-Douglas debate, extemporaneous speaking, and other events.

“Learning public speaking skills early builds confidence, promotes empathy and open-mindedness for other points of view, and it can be a foundation for lifelong success,” Preston said. “It also supports student success in school by developing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. And, best of all, it's a lot of fun to challenge yourself and try what many adults are unable to do.”

Learning from Local Leaders

A new slate of guest speakers for the 2025-26 school year will be revealed as the year continues, including:

September 19: Steve Callaway, former Hillsboro mayor
October 19: Mackenna Krohn, Deputy District Attorney
November 16: Mayor Beach Pace
December 21: State Senator Janeen Sollman

Previous guest speakers who shared their speaking skills and experiences with Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate participants in 2024-2025 include:

• Former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway
• State Representative Susan McLain, former Speech & Debate Coach at Glencoe High School and a member of the Oregon Speech & Debate Hall of Fame 
• Hillsboro Fire Chief David Downey
• Hillsboro Police Chief Jim Coleman
• Hillsboro School District Superintendent Travis Reiman
• Hillsboro City Manager Robby Hammond
• Jupiter Nickles, Liberty High School Speech & Debate Team Member

“These leaders’ enthusiasm to give their time and share their best tips and lessons with the students in this program is a great learning opportunity,” Preston says.

Never Too Early to Debate

Practicing how to speak in front of others can give students the confidence to deliver a future class presentation. Learning how to effectively debate is another matter entirely. That’s why Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate introduces both speaking skills and debating skills.

With age-appropriate topics such as “Should students have cell phones in school?”, students will gain experience coming up with reasons to support both sides of an argument, then respectfully debating the other side.

“Yelling and interrupting are not debating skills. Neither is name-calling or insulting someone,” Preston says. “The most accomplished debaters are outstanding at researching, preparing, listening, asking questions, analyzing information quickly, summarizing, and remaining calm throughout the debate. These are skills you can feel good about your student developing.”

Creating a Youth Speech & Debate Program in Hillsboro

High school students throughout Oregon compete in speech and debate during the school year, with a series of smaller competitions that culminate in an annual Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) tournament each spring. The OSAA tournament played a key role in inspiring Preston to work toward the creation of a youth speech & debate program in Hillsboro.

“My daughter and I went to the Oregon High School Speech & Debate Championships in 2023 and we noticed there were no students from Hillsboro,” Preston recalled.

Working with his daughter as a family project, Preston developed short-term and long-term program plans to give students a taste of how fun speech and debate can be — and to create a foundation for students in Hillsboro to be ready and excited to pursue speech and debate later on.

• Learn more about Hillsboro Youth Speech & Debate — and register for the program