COURSES

Debate 1, 2, 3, 4 

Forensics 1, 2, 3, 4 

Comms130 (dual credit with KU)

****Please always email me with questions or concerns - I am very responsive to email and regularly reply outside of the normal work day. It is the easiest and most efficient way to communicate with me. My email is kelly.thompson@usd497.org****

Class Schedule: 

Zero Hour - Advanced Debate

First Hour - Debate 1

Second Hour - Advanced Debate

Third Hour - Comms130 (KU Blueprint

Fourth Hour - Debate 1

Fifth Hour - Advanced Debate 

Sixth Hour - Plan 

About Me: 

This is my 6th year teaching & coaching at Free State HS. I have previously spent five seasons coaching Debate and Forensics at Hutchinson High School and three years coaching Debate at Blue Valley North (where I was also an Assistant Forensics Coach). I have also taught courses in Philosophy, Speech, English 10 and ACT/SAT Prep. Prior to that, I spent time debating and coaching debate at Emporia State University and Washburn Rural High School. This season will be my 22nd year involved with policy debate, as a competitor and coach, in high school and college.

In my time coaching, students I have coached have: won the National Championship in Policy Debate at the 2022 Tournament of Champions; won a 2021 National Speech & Debate Association School of Outstandstanding Distinction Award (given to the top 10 schools in the country in Speech & Debate); won two 2-Speaker State Debate Championship (2010, 2019); and won three (consecutive) State Speech Championships (2019, 2021, 2022); won a 2020 NSDA School of Honor in Debate Award (top 40 debate programs in the country); won the Novice State Debate tournament (2016, 2020). We have also qualified 30+ teams to the Debate Coaches' Invitational, qualified 14+ teams to the NSDA and NCFL National Debate Tournaments, Qualified 40+ students to the NSDA and NCFL National Speech Tournaments. Our students have also been offered/awarded 10's of thousands of dollars in Debate and Speech Scholarships to universities throughout the nation. As a result of those students' successes, I have been named the Kansas Debate Coaches' Invitational Coach of the Year five times (2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022) and was named the Educator of the Year by the Kansas Speech Communication Association (2013 and 2022). I previously served for seven years as a member of NSDA District Committees, and for three years as the Kansas Speech Communication Association Secretary. 

Outside of Debate and Forensics, I enjoy rooting for and watching: Chiefs Football, Royals Baseball and the Kansas State Wildcats. My wife and I have a ten year old daughter, Kendall, who will be in 5th grade this year at Spring Hill Elementary; and a four year old foster son, Bradley. My wife teaches Pre-K Special Education in Spring Hill. In my spare time, I also write professional about the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL, and enjoy collecting Chiefs memorabilia.