The 2019 PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon State Champion Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School team members and their coaches are pictured here following their awards presentation: (seated, l-r) Shannon Kinsey, Eden Muina, Jewel Okoronkwo, Shaili Patel and Ben Sprayberry; (back row, l-r) Coach Lisa Beck, Zach Carter, Daniel O’Steen, Jackson Lewis, and Coach Jessica Chandler (not pictured, Coach Ian Beck).
Catoosa County’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, coached by Lisa Beck, Jessica Chandler and Ian Beck, is the 2019 PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon (GAD) State Champion. The team scored the highest points overall in Division I and II and was presented the Howard Stroud Championship Trophy. It is the ninth time the school has captured the title. The team will be invited to represent Georgia at the United States Academic Decathlon national competition to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota, this April.
The two-day academic competition was Feb. 22 & 23, 2019, at Parkview High School in Gwinnett County. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe is a Division II, or small-school (based on school population size) participant. In addition, Carroll County’s Villa Rica High School, coached by Cynthia Cox, Sarah Triplett and Russell Bennett, will be invited to travel to Bloomington to represent Georgia in the National Division IV competition. To qualify, the team was the highest scoring team in a division other than the one in which the state champion team will compete at Nationals.
Division I (large school) winners include: Division I Champion Carroll County’s Villa Rica High School, coached by Cynthia Cox, Sarah Triplett and Russell Bennett; First Runner-up Muscogee County’s Columbus High School, coached by Maribeth Hood and Jan Carter; and Second Runner-up Dougherty County’s Westover High School, coached by Thomas Amos and Pamela Heard. Division II (or small school) winners include: Division II Champion Catoosa County’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, coached by Lisa Beck, Jessica Chandler and Ian Beck; First Runner-up Muscogee County’s Hardaway High School, coached by Carmen Kimsey Morris; and Second Runner-up Muscogee County’s G.W. Carver STEM High School, coached by Amy Worthy-Foss. The U.S. Academic Decathlon also sponsors an Online National Competition for Small, Medium and Large Schools, based on student school population, which will be held in conjunction with the national finals competition in April. Gwinnett County’s Parkview High School, coached by Melodie Carr and Dave Steele, will represent Georgia in the Large School Online Competition; Muscogee’s Hardaway High School, coached by Carmen Kimsey Morris, will represent Georgia in the Medium School Online Competition; and Richmond County’s A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School, coached by Sydney Prescott and Philip Grabowskii, will represent Georgia in the Small School Online Competition.
The state competition is sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the Chick-fil-A Foundation. Kennesaw State University hosts and provides expert speakers for the GAD Fall Workshop. Gwinnett County Public Schools serves as host of the state competition.
Charles E. Richardson, artist in residence at Middle Georgia State College and a PAGE Foundation trustee, served as Master of Ceremonies for the GAD Awards Banquet, during which the highest-scoring students were awarded both team and individual medals in various competition categories.
More than 185 high school students from 21 high schools representing 13 school districts competed in the academic event. During the competition, students were tested in seven content areas: economics, art, literature, mathematics, science, social science and music. In addition, students earned points individually in three communication events: public speaking, personal interview and written essay. The program is unique because each nine-member team is made up of three Honor students (GPA 3.75-4.0), three Scholastic students (GPA 3.0-3.749) and three Varsity students (GPA 0.0-2.999). Each year the program features a different overall curriculum topic. The 1960s: A Transformational Decade was this year’s topic.
On Saturday afternoon students participated in the exciting Super Quiz, a collaborative event designed to showcase the students’ knowledge of the overall curriculum. Dr. Cary Sell, a biology and chemistry educator at Parkview High School and immediate past PAGE GAD State Director, served as Master of Ceremonies for this event. During the GAD Awards Banquet, Catoosa County’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School was announced as this year’s Super Quiz Champion. Carroll County’s Villa Rica High School, won First runner-up honors, Gwinnett County’s Parkview High School was named as Second runner-up.
Atlanta Public Schools’ North Atlanta High School, coached by Dr. Deanna Hasty and Dr. Usha Patke, captured “Rookie of the Year” honors. The award is given to the highest-scoring team among those making their first appearance at state competition.
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators honors outstanding students and educators and encourages academic excellence through competitive academic initiatives such as PAGE STAR, the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades and the PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon.