Potomac Oak Students Crowned World Champion of Brewer Foundation / NYU Debate Contest

May 6, 2023 – New York – A team of students from Potomac Oak in Rockville, Maryland, were crowned world champions Saturday, winning the 22nd Annual Brewer Foundation/New York University International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) debate competition and a $10,000 grand prize. The final debate was held at The Harold Pratt House in New York City.

The teams that competed in the IPPF Finals on Saturday, May 6, were the final “Elite Eight” teams to emerge from a field of more than 220 teams, representing high schools in 31 U.S. states and 22 countries. The teams debated the topic: “Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an effective model for international cooperation."

As the new IPPF World Champion, the Potomac Oak team receives a $10,000 grand prize from the Brewer Foundation ($5,000 for the school’s debate program and $5,000 in individual scholarships) and the Brewer Cup. 

“This amazing team supplemented months of written scholarship with outstanding oral advocacy – earning the title of 2023 IPPF World Champion,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at the Brewer firm and founder of the IPPF. “The IPPF provides students with the opportunity to sharpen skills that are fundamental to academic achievement: the ability to research topics of critical importance, synthesize complex material, and advocate for a position. These students demonstrated a ‘best in class’ performance against some of the most accomplished debaters in the world.” 

The runner-up team, The Hockaday School, receives a $3,500 prize. Ms. Sanika Agarwalla from The Hockaday School received the inaugural John E. Sexton award – recognizing the outstanding speaker of the 2023 IPPF Finals.

The top eight teams competing in the IPPF Finals represented schools in five U.S. states, Canada and Singapore. Founded in 2001, the IPPF is the only competition that gives high school students from around the globe the opportunity – for free – to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.

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Brewer Foundation Recognized by Dallas Independent School District

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May 5, 2023 – The Brewer Foundation received a special award from the Dallas Independent School District at the 2023 “State of the District” meeting. DISD Chief of Strategic Partnerships and Intergovernmental Relations Jon Dahlander presented the Foundation with the Emmett J. Conrad Extra Mile Award – awarded annually to those who champion community support for public schools.

The Brewer Foundation founded, funds and manages the Future Leaders Program (FLP) – a public-private partnership that provides academic resources, mentoring and leadership training to deserving students from DISD. The FLP has been recognized previously by the Texas State Board of Education and Governor’s Office. 

Since its founding in 2001, the FLP has helped hundreds of DISD students prepare for and attend four-year colleges and universities. These students have earned more than $12.5 million in scholarship offers. The FLP Class of 2023 will attend colleges and universities such as Northwestern University, Brown University, Cornell University, and The University of Texas, to name a few.

Newsweek Reports on Brewer Foundation/NYU Debate Contest

May 4, 2023 – Newsweek reported today on the Brewer Foundation/NYU International Public Policy Forum. Founded in 2001 by the Brewer Foundation, the IPPF is the first and only competition that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. Now jointly administered by New York University, the contest annually reaches thousands of students.

As reported by Newsweek, “The IPPF is different from other public policy debates, which are largely comprised of oral arguments, because it includes rounds of essays that are exchanged by participants.” This year’s contest resolution is, “Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an effective model for international cooperation.”

The IPPF Finals take place Saturday, May 6 at the Harold Pratt House in New York City. Firm partner William A. Brewer III tells Newsweek about the unique finals format.

“Not only are these kids cross-examining each other, but now you've got lawyers and successful businesspeople and famous government officials sitting on a panel and asking you a bunch of questions about the topic that you've just debated. It's an exciting process,” Brewer said.

The final debate takes place at 3:30 p.m. EST. Log on to www.facebook.com/IPPFdebate to view all the action.

Read the full story here.

The City Journals Reports on Sweet 16 IPPF Team from Utah

On March 30, 2023, The City Journals reported that a group of homeschool students has advanced to the top 16 round of the Brewer Foundation / New York University International Public Policy Forum (IPPF).

According to the report, the students, debating as part of the Wasatch Independent Debate League, say the IPPF has provided "opportunities to learn skills they feel will serve them far beyond their years of competition with the debate league."

“My favorite thing about competing in the IPPF is the skills I am able to develop,” team captain Alexander Henage said. “I’ve always been a writer and loved writing. Through participating in the IPPF, I’ve seen more improvement than I have in any other class or extracurricular activity just because of how intense this process is over writing, researching and completing a finished project. It’s really rewarding.”

Founded in 2001 by the Brewer Foundation, the IPPF is now jointly sponsored by New York University. The IPPF is the first and only debate contest that gives high school students the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. During the 2022-23 competition, teams are debating the topic, "Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an effective model for international cooperation."

To read the full article, click here.

New Haven Register Profiles Advancing Team in Brewer Foundation/NYU International Public Policy

On March 26, 2023, The New Haven Register published the article, "Amity Regional High School Debate Team Argues Its Way Into Sweet 16 of International Competition." The article profiles one of the final 16 teams remaining in the 22nd annual Brewer Foundation/NYU International Public Policy Forum (IPPF).

Founded in 2001, the IPPF is the first and only debate contest that gives high school students the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. During the 2022-23 competition, teams are debating the topic, "Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an effective model for international cooperation."

According to the article, the seven-member team from Amity Regional High School has spent more than "300 hours – mostly online – crafting and refining their arguments for the IPPF tournament." 

"We get much more time to think about our arguments, and to plan, outline, review, revise, edit and have these in-depth discussions," member Sophia Liu said of written debates. "Whereas in an oral debate, it's very quick-paced because the speeches are one after another."

"A lot of the stuff that is covered in IPPF we don’t learn in school," Sophia Liu said. "I’ve never had an economics class or an international relations class. Learning how the United States relates to other nations is really interesting to me because I get to escape my bubble that I constantly live in."

To read the full article, click here. 

Local Media Celebrates IPPF, Advancing Students

March 7, 2023 – The Scottsdale Independent joined many other local news publications this week in celebrating the Brewer Foundation/NYU International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) and its student competitors.

The IPPF recently announced the advancing “Sweet 16” teams in this global debate contest. The teams remain eligible to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the IPPF Finals in New York City in May, where the IPPF World Champion will be awarded a $10,000 grand prize.

Founded in 2001 by the Brewer Foundation and now jointly administered with New York University, the IPPF is one of the largest and most competitive high school debate contests in the world.

Read the report.

International Public Policy Forum Announces Advancing “Sweet 16” Teams

February 22, 2023 – Hundreds of debate teams from around the world entered the 2022-23 International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) competition, but only 16 remain. By advancing into the "Sweet 16" round, the teams remain eligible to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the IPPF Finals in New York City, where the IPPF World Champion will be awarded a $10,000 grand prize. Founded in 2001 by the Brewer Foundation and now jointly administered with New York University, the IPPF is one of the largest and most competitive debate contests in the world.

The advancing teams are:

  • Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Connecticut

  • BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona

  • Bergen County Debate Club in Fort Lee, New Jersey

  • EEC Debate in Toronto, ON, Canada

  • H.Edu Institute in San Mateo, California

  • Hamilton High School (Team 2) in Chandler, Arizona

  • The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas

  • Ivy Bridge Academy in Johns Creek, Georgia

  • John Handley High School in Winchester, Virginia

  • Mountain View-Los Altos Speech and Debate in Mountain View, California

  • Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

  • Notre Dame San Jose in San Jose, California

  • Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida

  • Potomac Oak in Rockville, Maryland

  • UWC South East Asia in Singapore

  • Wasatch Independent Debate League in Riverton, Utah

The IPPF is the first and only competition that gives high school students worldwide the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.

“The teams advancing demonstrate excellence at research, writing, and advocacy,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and a founder of the IPPF. “The 16 teams remaining will compete in a final round of written debates – in hopes of moving on to oral debates during the IPPF Finals in New York City.”

The IPPF’s 22nd annual competition began in October 2022, as 220 teams, representing schools in 22 countries and 31 U.S. states, submitted qualifying round essays affirming or negating the IPPF topic, “Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an effective model for international cooperation.” Those essays were reviewed by a committee, which determined the top 64 teams based on the overall quality of each 2,800-word essay.

In November, the top 64 teams began a single-elimination, written debate competition. Each team was assigned a position (affirmative or negative) and then volleyed papers back and forth with another team via email for the next six weeks. A panel of judges reviewed the essays and selected the winning teams. The “Top 32” teams then engaged in a new round of written debates, which culminated in the announcement of the “Sweet 16” teams. Those teams now begin the final written round of competition.

On March 30, the “Elite 8” teams will be announced. The final eight teams win a trip to New York City to compete in the IPPF Finals on May 6, 2023. The IPPF Finals give students the opportunity to supplement their written scholarships with oral advocacy. Judges will include Brewer and New York University President Emeritus John Sexton, among others. The winning team will take home the “Brewer Cup” and the $10,000 grand prize.

The Season for Celebration – FLP Students Secure College Offers

Students from the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) have a lot to celebrate heading into the new year: acceptances into some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities.

Student Raul Lopez, who attends the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, was accepted to Northwestern University. Student Erica Salazer, who attends the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center – Law Magnet, was accepted to Southern Methodist University. Student Judith Rodriguez, who attends Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, was accepted to Grinnell College through a match as a QuestBridge Scholar.

Founded in 2001, the FLP is a public-private partnership that provides academic training, mentoring and counseling to deserving students from the Dallas Independent School District (DISD). The programs partners teachers and administrators from DISD, The Hockaday School, St. Mark’s School of Texas, The Episcopal School of Dallas, and the Greenhill School.

As the first program of its kind, the FLP has helped its students earn more than $12.5 million in scholarship offers since its inception.

“Testament to the program’s success is the ‘report card’ on where many of these amazing students go to college,” says William A. Brewer III, a founder of the FLP. “They are beginning an incredible academic journey, which holds promise for themselves, their families, and the community. We could not be more proud of all they continue to achieve or the promise of their horizons.”