Sequoyah High School Teacher Inducted into State Speech and Debate Hall of Fame

Sequoyah High School teacher Matt Bartula has been inducted into a state hall of fame for speech and debate coaches, the Cherokee County School District announced.

Bartula was named to the new class of members of the Georgia Forensics Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. The honor is bestowed upon educators for “excellence in speech and debate and their support of high school speech and debate activities in the state,” according to the organization.

Bartula, who joined CCSD in 1999, teaches Advanced Placement history and social studies classes, and coaches the school’s nationally recognized speech and debate team.

“Congratulations to Matt on this well-earned recognition of his continued success and longtime support of Sequoyah’s speech and debate team,” Superintendent Brian Hightower said. “His students not only have excelled for many years at state and national competitions, but they also have advanced to further speech and debate success at the college level and have used those skills in their careers.”

Under his leadership, Sequoyah’s team has earned the opportunity to compete at top national events including the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament, Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, Stanford University Invitational Debate Tournament, and Wake Forest Speech and Debate Tournament.

The team also has earned numerous state honors including multiple Georgia Forensic Coaches Association’s Philip Wertz School of Excellence Awards.

Bartula was named his school’s Teacher of the Year in 2015, and in 2018 was one of only 59 educators worldwide to earn the Yale Educator Award in recognition of teaching excellence.