LAUSD Academic Decathlon Newsletter

The profound ability of our Decathletes, coaches, and staff to persevere and thrive in the face of this year’s obstacles is truly inspiring. Despite the school closures, the remote learning challenges, and the pandemic impact on families throughout the district, the LAUSD Academic Decathlon program is ending the 2021 season well and healthy.

As we rejoice in the Decathletes’ pride and sense of accomplishment, it is also important to reflect on the digital transformation that the LAUSD Academic Decathlon program has undergone in the past twelve months, since school closures. A digital transformation that began three years ago with the incorporation of digital learning and database management systems such as Schoology, SharePoint, and QuickBase, to progressively replace the traditional operational, instructional, and testing paper-based models.

When schools closed their campuses in March 2020, LAUSD entered in emergency mode to provide students and staff with the necessary digital resources to minimize the unprecedented educational disruption. Uncertain about the viability of a remote Academic Decathlon competition, schools were debating whether to invest funds, time, and energy in a program that might be cancelled. Student recruitment was becoming a challenge for many teams as well.

In view of the challenges being faced, the LAUSD Beyond the Bell Academic Decathlon program accelerated its plans for a fully virtual competition redesign. Schools were provided with free electronic resource materials and online testing and training user licenses. All ten competition events, including Speech and Interview, were re-engineered to take place virtually from students’ homes. Registration and participation instructions were updated, eliminating all paper-based operational, testing, and scoring procedures. Orientation meetings and trainings were moved to Zoom. And a monthly e-mail newsletter and social media accounts were put in place to keep the LAUSD Academic Decathlon teams informed, motivated, and engaged during the pandemic.

We hope this year’s LAUSD show of strength and creativity will give way to a 2021-22 Academic Decathlon and Pentathlon of continued growth and innovation.

The comet Hale-Bopp, photographed in 1997; The Milky Way, visible in the night sky.

ACADEMIC DECATHLON WINNERS

Congratulations to all the winners from this year’s LAUSD Academic Decathlon. Your dedication through these unprecedented times is something to be very proud of.

2020-21 LAUSD Academic Decathlon Top-Scoring Team

Grant High School

(Coaches: David Sanchez & Brennan Azizi, Principal: Rebecca McMurrin)

District-Wide Top-Scoring Individual

Yadira Castillo

(Grant High School)

Larry McCormick Memorial Award

Yadira Castillo

(Grant High School, Coaches: David Sanchez & Brennan Azizi, Principal: Rebecca McMurrin)

Nancy Trinh

(Lincoln High School, Coaches: Winnie Kwan & Marisa Crabtree, Principal: Rose Ann Ruiz)

Al Perez Memorial Award

Reseda Charter High School

(Coach: Scott Mercer, Principal: Melanie Walsh)

Dr. Robert Peterson Most Improved Team Award

Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies

(Coach: Suzanna Gordon, Principal: Katie McGrath)

Coach of the Year

Mike Gross

(Northridge Academy High School)

Administrators of the Year

Nidia Castro

(Principal, Northridge Academy High School)

Robert Clarke

(Principal, Lake Balboa College Prep)

A full list of winners can be found HERE.

CALIFORNIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON

As the LAUSD regional competition has come to a conclusion, the California Academic Decathlon is the next step. Approximately 75 schools representing regions throughout the state, such as Ventura, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Orange County, and LAUSD (only district to be its own region), will be ranked into 3 different divisions according to their regional scores.

This year, LAUSD is sending 8 schools to the state competition. In an ordinary year, students would travel to Sacramento and compete in in-person competition among other regional winners. Once again students will take their objective tests and essay online as well as conduct their speech and interview virtually.

Congratulations to the 8 schools who will compete in the State Competition:

California Academic Decathlon (CAD) Invited Teams

Grant High School

(Coaches: David Sanchez & Brennan Azizi, Principal: Rebecca McMurrin)

Van Nuys Senior High School

(Coach: Jono Mitchell, Principal: Yolanda Gardea)

Marshall High School

(Coaches: Daniel Badiak & Mike Jones, Principal: Gary Garcia)

Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet

(Coach: Patricia Prokopidis, Principal: Janet Mack)

Bell High School

(Coaches: Heather Wilson & Matthew Moreno, Principal: Rafael Balderas)

Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies

(Coach: Suzanna Gordon, Principal: Katie McGrath)

Verdugo Hills High School

(Coach: Evae Silva, Principal: Arturo Barcenas)

North Hollywood High School

(Coach: Raul Barragan, Principal: Ricardo Rosales)

A composite image of the four Galilean moons.

PENTATHLON SCRIMMAGE

On Saturday, February 27th, LAUSD pentathletes participated in the Academic Pentathlon scrimmage, the first competition of the season. Students completed exams in Fine Arts, Literature, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science from the comfort of their own home. Congratulations to every student that invested their Saturday to participating in the online scrimmage.

Here are the scrimmage top three scoring schools in each grade level:

8^th Grade

1. Lake Balboa College Prep Magnet K-12

(Coach: Carrie Wan, Principal: Robert Clarke)

2. Vista Middle School

(Coaches: Allison Gorjian & Jennifer Gutierrez, Principal: Pia Damonte)

3. Holmes Middle School

(Coaches: Cris Avina & Maria Valentin, Principal: Kim D’Aloisio)

7^th Grade

1. John Burroughs Middle School

(Coach: Shauna Segal, Principal: Jaime Morales)

2. Vista Middle School

(Coaches: Allison Gorjian & Jennifer Gutierrez, Principal: Pia Damonte)

3. Millikan Middle School Affiliated Charter

(Coach & Principal: Felica Drew)

6^th Grade

1. Millikan Middle School Affiliated Charter

(Coach & Principal: Felica Drew)

2. Reseda Charter High School

(Coaches: Emily Bliss & Scott Mercer, Principal: Melanie Welsh)

3. Young Oak Kim Academy

(Coach: Martha Madrid, Principal: Justin Lauer)

SPOTLIGHT

Being an Academic Pentathlon coach requires countless hours of commitment to ensure students have understood the curriculum. This month’s newsletter highlights Felicia Drew, who is not only the Academic Pentathlon coach at Millikan Affiliated Charter Middle School but is also the school’s Principal.

When asked her experience as a first-time coach, Ms. Drew had this to say:

Q: As both the coach, and principal, do you feel added pressure for the program to succeed?

I feel absolutely no pressure for the program to succeed in terms of awards, but I do want it to be a positive learning experience for our students, so I do think a lot about how to make the experience meaningful and rewarding for them.

Q: As Millikan’s principal, what led you to launch the program at your school?

I personally have a great deal of curiosity and eclectic interests and love to share that passion with students. I am always looking for ways to ignite our students' curiosity and an interest in history and literature. I also wanted to provide opportunities for students to have access to high quality extracurricular activities that challenge them intellectually.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges of not being physically present at school, and how are you overcoming these challenges?

The biggest challenge is building relationships between the kids and with the kids and coaches. We are so crunched for time. We planned three Cold War movie watching events for Sunday afternoons so that we can just hang out virtually and talk about the movie. We are also doing a Social Emotional Learning check-in before we get to work each day.

Q: Was it difficult recruiting students for the program through distance learning?

It was difficult to recruit students, especially varsity students. Most students don't want to take on extra work right now. We have lost several students since we started working together in January.

Q: Do you find it difficult to motivate your students through virtual learning?

It has been difficult to get them to do the extra work on their time, but during the remote sessions most of our students are asking good questions and we are having good discussions.

Educators like Ms. Drew are a prime example of our growing Pentathlon program. While only in its second year, teachers and administrators are realizing the value of having the Pentathlon program made available to their students. Ms. Drew’s goal is to not only ensure that students are understanding the curriculum but that they learn about themselves as individuals during this unique learning situation.

Every month, the Spotlight section will highlight an administrator, coach, student, sponsor, or volunteer who has made an impact on our program. If you would like to nominate someone, please submit their name to academic.decathlon@lausd.net with a short description as to why they should be featured.