Bella Vista High School, from the San Juan Unified School District, is the winner of the Sacramento County Academic Decathlon competition. The team now advances to the California Academic Decathlon, which will be held on March 14-17, 2013 in Sacramento.
Folsom High School (Folsom Cordova Unified School District) finished second in the local competition and Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove Unified School District) placed third. Folsom's score also qualified the team to advance to the state competition alongside Bella Vista.
California's winning team is eligible to advance to the U.S. Academic Decathlon April 25-27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon announced individual and team winners of the 33rd Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon, held February 2 at Inderkum High School. The top scorers were honored February 6 at an awards banquet presented by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) at the CSU Sacramento University Union Ballroom. Kevin Riggs, Senior Vice President for Randall Communications, served as banquet emcee.
SAFE Credit Union provided $10,000 in scholarships to be distributed among top-scoring students. SAFE President Henry Wirz was on hand to personally congratulate all participants.
Twenty-one high schools in Sacramento County sent teams to compete February 2 in written and oral exams at Inderkum High School. To prepare for the Academic Decathlon, students devoted months of study to the 2013 theme: "Russia." Questions asked during the live Super Quiz were posed by Fox40 LIVE Morning Anchor Paul Robins, who served as Quizmaster. The Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium will rebroadcast the Super Quiz six times this March on Sacramento Comcast Channel 16 (broadcast schedule at left).
Students competed for awards in 10 demanding academic categories: art, economics, essay, interview, language/literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, and speech. Students could earn gold, silver, or bronze medals based on their individual and team scores.
Each high school Academic Decathlon team is comprised of nine students (three with "A" grade averages, three with "B" averages and three with "C" averages) who compete against those with the same grade average. Coaches are local high school teachers. Academic "Decathletes" not only grow in academic achievement; they learn about teamwork, goal-setting, planning and leadership.
2013 Photos and Media
- Scrimmage photo gallery
- Team photos gallery
- Super Quiz photo gallery
- SECC TV's re-broadcast of the Super Quiz
- Awards Banquet photo gallery
- Student speeches (YouTube playlist)
Top-Scoring Teams
- 1st Place: Bella Vista High School (San Juan Unified School District)
- 2nd Place: Folsom High School (Folsom Cordova Unified School District)
- 3rd Place: Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove Unified School District)
- 4th Place: Del Campo High School (San Juan Unified School District)
- 5th Place: Mira Loma High School (San Juan Unified School District)
Schools Placing Highest in the Super Quiz
(compilation of scores from written and oral exams)
- 1st Place: Bella Vista High School (San Juan Unified School District)
- 2nd Place: Folsom High School (Folsom Cordova Unified School District)
- 3rd Place: Del Campo High School (San Juan Unified School District)
School with Most Improved Score
- Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove Unified School District)
Team Results
The Sacramento County Academic Decathlon is coordinated by the Sacramento County Office of Education with the assistance of community volunteers. Additional information is available by phoning the Sacramento County Office of Education at (916) 228-2660 or emailing Craig Irish.