Is this school's debate team back in the game?

CHICAGO -- Darius Rencher and Twila Bietila have a recruitment problem. The teens are the co-captains of the debate team at Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood, once a powerhouse program, now trying to claw its way back.

"We have a lot of archrival clubs," Bietila, 15, said. "We don't like -"

Across the room, debate coach and school counselor Charles Clark sighed. "We love all Lindblom clubs," he cut in. "All Lindblom clubs are great."

(The clubs in question, it turns out, are Model U.N. and the Socialist Club, which apparently draw many of the same students.)

A decade ago, Lindblom had a roster about a dozen strong. Then the pandemic hit, and participation thinned after months of remote learning. The team hasn't quite recovered its numbers, now hovering around six students. But Rencher and Bietila are mounting a comeback.

Buoyed by a circle of alumni, the sophomores have climbed the ranks of the city's junior varsity debate league. They notched two wins across four tournaments this season, and have their eyes on the next year's prize: the U.S. National Circuit competition. The holy grail of high school debate.

"We would love to have a bigger team and represent our school," said Rencher, 17, who lives in South Shore.

The team is a chapter of Chicago Debates, which has partnered with Chicago Public Schools for three decades. The nonprofit serves more than 1,600 CPS students each year across 80 middle and high schools, primarily on the South and West sides. It is one of the largest urban policy debate leagues in the country.

Last year, the program faced $169,000 in contract cuts after CPS scaled back funding by about 45%, according to Chicago Debates. The cuts came as the district's pandemic-era relief money ran dry, and the nonprofit has fundraised to cover the gap.

Still, participation in Chicago Debates across the city is growing. The organization has recently added chapters of the Spanish-language division Debate en Español, as well as a public forum debate league for middle schoolers, which rotates monthly topics related to current events.

The traditional policy debate league is a yearlong, research-intensive endeavor devoted to a singular topic. Two-person teams craft both affirmative and negative arguments, which are delivered in a series of lightning-fast speeches. Debate rounds typically last about two hours. This year's topic: Should the U.S. invest further in the development of the Arctic?

"We know more than any high schooler should know about boats that break ice, and how many every country in the world has," Bietila said. "Russia has 60."

Lindblom, a selective-enrollment high school with about 1,250 students, is one of the oldest public schools in the city. It was one of the first five schools to have a Chicago Debates chapter when the nonprofit launched in 1997.

Throughout the 2010s, Lindblom would regularly send students out of state to compete in the National Circuit and other tournaments. This year, however, the club had just six members. Rencher and Bietila were the only pair to consistently attend tournaments and compete above the novice level.

The teens were partnered by chance at last spring's city championship. On the debate stage, it clicked. Over months of policy research, they formed a deep friendship. They still have lunch together every day, even after their season ended in April.

"I had a lot of partners, and none of them were really at my level," said Bietila, who lives in Hyde Park. "But I felt like we were both at the same level of dedication to the sport. Like, if (Rencher) was gonna text me at 2 a.m. to prep something, I was gonna do it."

Bietila, who sports choppy green hair and colorful eyeshadow, sat beside Rencher in an airy Lindblom classroom reflecting on their season. Rencher, tall and reedy, was more reserved than his partner, but armed with razor-sharp wit.

Bietila, for example, listed her lengthy resume outside of debate, including roller derby and volunteering at the Field Museum, all while juggling an Advanced Placement course load.

Rencher cut in. "Brag much?" he said. Bietila rolled her eyes, but the pair erupted with laughter.

"We can be pretty mean to each other," Bietila said, only half-joking.

Clark, the Lindblom debate coach, projected an avuncular authority watching over the pair. He insists he was "tricked" when he first agreed to coach three years ago, despite not having any background in debate. But the students - including Rencher and Bietila, whom he fondly noted bicker "like siblings" - have kept him coming back.

"I'm a competitive person by nature, so the competition aspect of it keeps me interested. … And the kids are cool. Like, they're annoying, but they're cool," Clark said with a laugh.

To fill in his debate knowledge, he's leaned on program manager Dailyn Davis, a Lindblom graduate now working for Chicago Debates. During her senior year in 2020, she was named the Chicago Debater of the Year. She attributed her passion for education, public service and policy to her time in the league.

"They are so good at debate," Davis said of Rencher and Bietila. "I think when they realize just how good they are at debate, a lot of what they can do in the future is going to click for them."

Community coach Ava McKenzie also helped bolster the team. McKenzie, a University of Michigan junior who graduated from Lindblom in 2023, met weekly with the pair to run drills and pore over writing.

"I love that they go back and forth with each other, and that's what you need in a partner," McKenzie said.

Bietila wants to become a librarian after high school, fueled by her love of reading. Rencher is an aspiring lawyer. He was one of two Chicago Debates students who earned a full scholarship to Harvard University's Debate Council Summer Workshops last year.

The co-captains' next focus is on building up their roster. That means flyering, social media posts and hosting information sessions when students return in the fall. It's a community affair.

"We owe a lot of things to people who've helped us. Especially Mr. Clark, who sometimes doesn't want to do this," Rencher joked. "This year has been really rewarding."

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 1:22 AM.