Schools

Donation Paves Way for Academic Decathlon Return

Moorpark High School has a tradition of fielding strong teams to the academic competition.

Thanks to the efforts of the Moorpark Education Foundation, Moorpark High School might soon see the return of a much loved and historically successful program.

The Foundation last week gave the Moorpark Unified School District $6,717 to help fund dedicated class time for Academic Decathlon coaches and students. The funds were a collection of donations resulting from a direct-mail campaign and a $1,000 grant from the Moorpark Morning Rotary Club.

According to a press release by the Foundation, coaches and students for the 2013-14 team will be selected over the summer and when school starts in August, there will be a dedicated period in the high school schedule for Academic Decathlon.

The Academic Decathlon is a competition in which teams of nine high school students go head to head in various academic events. Academic Decathletes take 30-minute multiple choice tests in the subjects of art, economics, music, language and literature, mathematics, science and social science. In addition, each team member gives a planned four-minute speech and a two-minute impromptu speech, sits through a seven-minute interview, and has 50 minutes to write an essay. A Super Quiz Relay, the final event, is open to the public and features questions from a variety of subject matters. The makeup of each of the nine-member teams must include three A students, three B students and three C or below students.

Former Moorpark Academic Decathlon team member Zachary Geiger, a second-year physics Ph.D. student, credits his participation in the program with teaching him to set lofty goals and giving him the tenacity to keep working until he achieved them.

"I can definitely say that AcaDeca gave me the tools I needed to succeed in college and beyond and has definitely made me who I am today," Geiger said.

The last time the Musketeers fielded an Academic Decathlon team was 2009, when they took the national championship title for the second consecutive year. In total, Moorpark has claimed the title four times since the competition began in 1982. To win in the 2013-14 school year, the school will have to best Granada Hills Charter High, which has been the national champion for the last three years.





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