At my son's school, they have an academic fair every fall where all the students (K-12) create research posters and answer questions about them to parents who are milling about the fair. Last year, the kindergarteners did research on sea life. My son had to find and memorize three facts about manta rays and present them to a small group of parents. It was his first public speaking experience and he was pretty stressed out about it beforehand, but he was also quite proud of having done it when it was over. I think it's great that they're starting early.
Drama and improvisation are also a regular part of the curriculum, beginning in kindergarten (a full time drama instructor rotates among the classes), which I think goes a long way to improving speaking skills.
