El Camino Real Charter High, a high school in Woodland Hills, recently came in second at the state's Academic Decathlon.
The team will now advance to the online national championships. First place went to Granada Hills Charter High School in the San Fernando Valley, which has won six out of the last seven years.
The teams are deliberately comprised of students with all different academic abilities—students whose GPAs are below 2.99 are placed on teams with those whose averages are between 3 and 3.75, as well as those with GPAs above 3.75.
The California Academic Decathlon is a nonprofit organization that operates statewide to promote an educational event using a format that enables teams of students to compete academically. The students take a series of 30-minute examinations in the subjects of social science, science, mathematics, literature and language, music, economics, and art.
In addition, each member of the team delivers a four-minute planned speech, and a two-minute improvised speech. He or she also participates in an interview that last about seven minutes, and writes an expository essay in 50 minutes. The final event is a quiz, and members of the public are welcome to attend.
Organizations like this can benefit by working with a newsletter printing company to create a letter detailing school activities for parents and community members.
