Dallas Teacher Wins New Instructor Award for Debate Program

Antonio José Cisneros Tirado, a fifth-grade teacher at the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, has been named the New Instructor of the Year. The recognition follows his team's performance at the City High School Championship, where the squad competed for the first time.

Cisneros initiated the debate program to provide students with opportunities they previously lacked. He grew up in Mexico City, where he noted that public options for gifted students were nearly nonexistent.

After earning a bachelor's degree from the University of the Americas Puebla and completing a master's and doctorate at the University of East Anglia in England, he taught in Puebla and North Carolina before moving to Pleasant Grove.

Upon joining Dallas ISD, Cisneros worked at STAG, a school that opened in 2018. The school serves a student body that is 98 percent economically disadvantaged and predominantly Latino. When Principal Reymundo Cervantes Guajardo asked him to start a debate team, Cisneros accepted the challenge despite having no prior experience teaching debate.

He trained with Evan Gilbert of the Dallas Debate Urban Alliance to learn the format. The program focused on analysis, argument writing, and presentation. Practices were held for one hour a week on Thursdays after school. Students studied materials, wrote note cards, and practiced reading, confident oratory, cross-examination, refutation, and real-time note-taking.

The team achieved immediate success. At their first tournament in the beginner public policy category, they took first, second, and third place. They remained in the top 10 throughout the season. In one notable match, a student competed alone against two two-person teams and finished in second place.

Cisneros stated that students learned to be analytical, breaking down problems and creating stories to present to judges. He described the early days as lacking glamour, with tired students and limited time, but noted that the students exceeded expectations.