GWINNETT’S PARKVIEW HIGH SCHOOL CAPTURES STATE ACADEMIC DECATHLON TITLE
Gwinnett County’s Parkview High School captured its third PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon (GAD) State Championship on Saturday, February 29, 2020. The team scored the highest points overall in Division I and II, earning the Howard Stroud Championship Trophy.
Parkview is a Division I, or large-school (based on school population size) participant and will be submitted as the Georgia representative to the annual U.S. Academic Decathlon (USAD) National Competition, April 30-May 2, 2020, in Anchorage, AK.
In addition, Catoosa County’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, is invited to travel to Anchorage to represent Georgia in the National Division IV competition. To qualify, the team was the next highest scoring team in a division other than the state champion’s division.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak, teams that would have traveled from China to compete in the USAD Finals are not allowed to do so. This has opened the way for an unprecedented third team to be invited from Georgia to compete at face-to-face Nationals in a special Invited Division. That team is Muscogee County’s Columbus High School.
The U.S. Academic Decathlon also sponsors an Online National Competition for Small, Medium and Large Schools, based on school enrollment, which will be held in conjunction with the national finals. The representatives from Georgia in this category are:
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- • Carroll County’s Villa Rica High School (Large School Online Competition)
- • Muscogee County’s William Henry Shaw High School (Medium School Online Competition)
- • Richmond County’s Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School (Small School Online Competition)
In overall scoring, Division I (large school) winners include:
- • Champion—Gwinnett County’s Parkview High School, coached by Melodie Carr, and Jeff Hall;
- • First Runner-up—Carroll County’s Villa Rica High School, coached by Cynthia Cox, Sarah Triplett and Russell Bennett;
- • Second Runner-up—Muscogee County’s Columbus High School, coached by Maribeth Hood and Jan Carter.
In overall scoring, Division II (or small school) winners include:
- • Champion—Catoosa County’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, coached by Jessica Chandler, Lisa Beck, and Ian Beck;
- • First Runner-up—Muscogee County’s William Henry Shaw High School, coached by Jordan Hatch;
- • Second Runner-up—Richmond County’s Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, coached by Melodie Spires-Howe and James Samaha.
Rome City Schools’ Rome High School, coached by Adeline Watkins, captured Rookie of the Year honors, awarded to the highest-scoring team making its first appearance at state competition.
More than 170 high school students from across the state competed in the academic event. The program is unique because each nine-member team is made up of three Honors students; three Scholastic students; and three Varsity students as determined by their USAD grade point averages. Each year the program features a different overall curriculum topic, and this year’s curriculum is In Sickness and In Health: An Exploration of Illness and Wellness. The 10 events that compose the decathlon are:
- • Testing in seven content areas (economics, art, literature, mathematics, science, social science and music).
- • Three communication events (public speaking, personal interview and written essay).
- • Super Quiz is the final, collaborative event comprised of questions from all seven of the testing areas. It is the only public event.
Winners in the Super Quiz competition were:
- • Champion—Catoosa County’s Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School
- • First Runner-up—Richmond County’s AR Johnson Health, Science and Engineering Magnet School
- • Second Runner-up—Gwinnett County’s Berkmar High School
For a complete listing of all awards and individual medal winners, click here.