CPS Manager a big ally of the CDL inside Chicago Public Schools
Sylvia Nelson Jordan is the Manager of the Chicago Debate League for the Department of Sports Administration and Afterschool Learning in the Office of Student Support and Engagement within Chicago Public Schools. She has been in this position since 2006. We recently conducted the following interview with her concerning her role supporting the Chicago Debate League:
What do you do for the Chicago Debate League, on behalf of Chicago Public Schools?
SNJ: I manage the operations and administration of the League for CPS.
How is the Chicago Debate League viewed by your department and by the leadership of CPS?
SNJ: The Chicago Debate League is viewed as a very successful and rigorous academic extracurricular team sport that engages students from different academic and socio-economic backgrounds.
Why does CPS support the CDL, and why do you think it has supported it for so long, and enabling to grow so large and successful?
SNJ: CPS supports the CDL because debate provides a positive outlet and serves as a vehicle to allow students to express themselves positively, while acquiring invaluable skills such as research, literacy, oratorical, study, critical thinking and analytical. The data that has been compiled and analyzed proves that students engaged in a positive activity such as the CDL are more likely to have better attendance rates, standardized test scores, and graduation and college matriculation rates.
What do you think the CDL brings to CPS students that they wouldn’t have without the CDL?
SNJ: The CDL creates an exciting learning environment for the CPS students, offering the aforementioned skill sets that may have otherwise been missed without participation. The CDL also introduces CPS students an additional option to benefit from competition through this academic sport.
What is your favorite part of your job working with the CDL?
SNJ: Watching debate transform lives and affording opportunities and serving the students of Chicago Public Schools.