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< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD Super Quiz Volunteer Information Date: Friday, February 23, 2024 Time: 4:45–8 p.m. Location: Kennesaw State University ( Download parking instructions below. ) Download 2024 Super Quiz Proctor Letter below. GAD Super Quiz Judge Letter 2024 .pdf Download PDF • 81KB The Super Quiz is the kick-off event of this year’s PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon State Competition. It is held in the old gym at Kennesaw State University on the Friday of competition at 7 p.m. and is the only event open to the public. Team members collaborate on answering multiple choice questions before a live audience with the combined scores determining the Super Quiz winner. Proctors for Super Quiz will be seated with the students in order to monitor them as they record their answers to the questions on an answer sheet. Additionally, Super Quiz proctors may be asked to monitor the audience and assist with crowd control. Thank you for volunteering as a PAGE GAD Super Quiz Proctor. Serving as a Super Quiz proctor is a simple but very important and fun way to make a difference in the lives of these high school students who have chosen to make academics a priority. Please see the letter linked at the top of this page for more information. Sincerely, Brian Lucy GAD Super Quiz Coordinator Return to the main GAD Volunteer page RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD As An Elective Course High schools and/or school districts wishing to offer the decathlon curriculum in an academic elective course can do so through courses approved by the Georgia Board of Education. These courses are listed in Rule 160-4-2-.03. A review of this rule and the courses listed for grades 9-12 yields some of the following as options (certain options are specific to certain years and certain curricula; others are general and could be used any year): 23.02100 – Mythology 35.06100 – Study Skills I 35.06200 – Study Skills II 35.06300 – Study Skills III 35.06400 – Study Skills IV 40.02100 – Astronomy 40.07100 – Oceanography 45.01100 – Comparative Religions 45.01200 – Current Issues 45.01300 – Technology and Society 45.01400 – The Humanities/Social Studies 45.07200 – Asian Studies 70.03100 – Directed Study I 70.03200 – Directed Study II 70.03300 – Directed Study III 70.03400 – Directed Study IV Schools/Districts should attempt to match the Academic Decathlon curriculum with potential courses annually to achieve the best correlation of standards for the selected content for that year. Courses should not be randomly selected. Matching the Academic Decathlon curriculum to a different course each year enables interested students to receive elective credit in four different elective courses should a student choose to be a part of this curriculum each of his/her four years in high school. The rationale for offering the decathlon curriculum through an academic elective course is to: provide opportunity for a whole class (20+) of students to engage in this rich and rigorous curriculum, motivate underachieving students through a rich and rigorous course content, broaden student research, study, and communication skills through a thematically planned curriculum, and provide an opportunity to bridge the achievement gap for participating students. The nine students who may make up the Georgia Academic Decathlon team may come from those who participate in the course, but there may also be other students who would like to be a part of the team but who are not able to work the elective course into their schedule. To meet the requirements of Rule 160-4-2-.03, students who are members of the GAD team should not be required to take this course. Coaches should see positive benefit for students who engage in this challenging curriculum. Spillover effect is to be expected. Some coaches have reported that students’ grades went up significantly as a result of studying the Decathlon curriculum. Please visit the GAD Coaches Manual page for more in-depth information regarding Academic Decathlon as an academic elective course. Additionally you may visit https://case.georgiastandards.org/ then click on the "State-Funded List of K-8 Subjects and 9-12 Courses" button at the top of the page. The PAGE GAD office requests that any school offering an academic elective course share with us which course(s) you are using. < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

Serving members in Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Tattnall, Toombs, and Vidalia City. Also serving as the College Services Representative for colleges and universities from Macon southward. < Back Will Esters Membership Services Representative westers@pageinc.org As a PAGE MSR, Will serves Georgia educators in Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Tattnall, Toombs, and Vidalia City. He retired from Dalton Public Schools in 2024 with more than 30 years’ experience as a teacher, school leader, and district leader in learning management systems and curriculum. He has also worked for the designers of the Canvas learning management system. Willholds degrees from McNeese State University and the University of Alabama. He lives in Lyons, Georgia with his family. After more than three decades in education, he looks forward to continuing his support of teachers and school staff — now from outside the classroom.

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD: How Does It Work? How Decathlon Works Academic Decathlon is unique because it is not limited to high-achieving students. Preparation, participation, and competition include high school students from ninth through twelfth grades. A unique aspect of Academic Decathlon is the design to include students from all academic backgrounds. Each 9-member team consists of 3 Honor students (GPA 3.85 - 4.0), 3 Scholastic students (GPA 3.5 - 3.849) and 3 Varsity students (GPA 0.0 - 3.499) * . Often the Varsity students – perhaps never academically motivated before – perform the best. Some students who once performed average work excel in the competition and experience continued academic success after the event. One high school per school district represents the school district at the state competition. The nine-member team must be from the same school and be the same team members that won district-level competition. School districts with more than one high school participating in Academic Decathlon plan a district-level competition to determine which high school will represent the district at the state finals. For those school districts having only one high school participating in decathlon, that school should still participate in the district-level competition to provide an excellent experience in competition and preparation for the state competition and to be able to compare their district scores against all of the other schools. The state competition is held in the Atlanta area. Competition events include seven tests of academic strength, 3 demonstrations of communication ability and the Super Quiz – a team event held before a live audience. Seven comprehensive tests are given in the areas of economics, mathematics, literature, science, social science, music, and art. The 3 communication events include speech (prepared and impromptu), interview, and a written essay. The competition concludes with the Super Quiz that is held in an arena/theater setting. A team coach or co-coaches lead each team. Coaches often depend on experts in fields outside their area of expertise to work with the team. So the concept of team and coach broadens to include all who work to support the team to their goal. GPA Classification and Calculation Rules USAD determines student placement in competition categories - Honor, Scholastic, or Varsity - using only the UNWEIGHTED cumulative GPA as listed on the student's official high school transcript. This GPA must include all coursework completed prior to the current grade level and must exclude all grades earned during the current academic year. Grades earned through the summer immediately preceding the current school year are counted toward eligibility. Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit courses are excluded from GPA calculations; only letter-graded coursework is considered. The specific criteria for GPA calculation and eligibility by grade level are: Freshmen: GPA includes grades from their 8th grade academic year, including any summer session grades completed before their freshman year, as reported on the official transcript. Sophomores: GPA includes grades from the summer before sophomore year, all coursework from freshman year, and the summer before freshman year if grades are reported on the transcript. Juniors: GPA includes grades from the summer before junior year, all coursework from sophomore and freshman years, and the summer before freshman year if grades are reported on the transcript. Seniors: GPA includes grades from the summer before senior year, all coursework from junior, sophomore, and freshman years, and the summer before freshman year if grades are reported on the transcript. Use the current self-calculating Excel spreadsheet only if there is no UNWEIGHTED grade reported on the transcript. If the unweighted grade on the transcript is not in a 4.0 scale but on a 100 point scale, you may simply move the decimal and multiply the grade by 4. For example: On the transcript, the reported unweighted grade is 82.6. Simply use this calculation 4 x .826 = 3.304 unweighted GPA can be written in on the transcript. If you have additional questions about how to calculate your students' GPAs, please see the current Eligibility Guidelines or contact the State Director. Testing Students prepare for objective tests in the disciplines of: mathematics, social science, science, literature, music, art, and economics. Curriculum resources guides are purchased from USAD. Detailed outlines are provided in the USAD Study Guides. For additional information about the objective tests, consult the GAD Coaches' Manual. Speech The Speech event has two components - prepared speech and impromptu speech. Each speech is timed and scored by two to three judges using a formal rubric. The topic of the prepared speech is the student's choice but it must meet some general guidelines and be approved by the team coach. Consult the USAD Practice Test Booklet and the GAD Coaches' Manual for more information about the Speech event. Interview Students are interviewed by a panel of two to three judges. The focus of the interview is centered on activities in which the student is engaged, college plans, preparations for Academic Decathlon®, and persons who have had an impact upon the student's life. Some questions may include topics that would require the use of "critical thinking" skills. The judges score the students using an official rubric. Consult the USAD Practice Test Booklet and the GAD Coaches' Manual for more information about the interview event. At Nationals, the Interview competition will likely be conducted online. Essay The Essay event in the Georgia Academic Decathlon is conducted online before State Competition. Prior to competition, GAD will arrange for an online practice login session. It is imperative that all students test their usernames and passwords at that time. This is also an opportunity to allow students to familiarize themselves with the online platform. It is advisable to have the team use the practice prompts (samples from the WWI curriculum provided below) to type an essay in the time given, even though the prompts may have nothing to do with the current year's curriculum. Any essay practice is useful. The official essay writing for state competition must be held on one of two times provided. Students should arrive at least 25 minutes prior to the testing time. The entire team must write at the same time, including up to three alternates. Decathletes will type an essay in response to a prompt chosen from a set given to them. Students will be given 50 minutes for writing the essay. The essay will be scored in accordance with t he published essay rubric. Example Essay Prompts Select one of the prompts for your essay. Write a well-organized essay in which you clearly respond to the question or direction that is presented in the prompt. Be sure to follow the accepted rules of standard English sentence structure, usage, spelling, and punctuation, and to use appropriate diction and style. Use specific information and examples from your studies to support your position. Provide a final paragraph to conclude or close your essay. Science Gregor Mendel made major contributions in the study of genetics. Even though he died in 1884, his work became important during World War I. Explain the impact of Mendel on genetics during and following World War I. Literature Any major historical or cultural event has a direct impact on the literature of the time period. World War I introduced the writings of soldiers and women. Explain the impact these new writers had on the existing trends in literature and the culture in general. Super Quiz Super Quiz is the only public event at State Competition. It is an event in which team members collaboratively answer questions from each of the seven academic decathlon curriculum areas (art, music, literature, economics, etc.). It is a public showcase of the academic decathlon curriculum. For more information consult the GAD Coaches' Manual. Forming A Team Schools, school districts, or coaches interested in forming a new team should first peruse this website for more information. Specifically you should watch the podcast episode "All About the Georgia Academic Decathlon" as well as read through the information in the GAD Coaches Manual and in the GAD Frequently Asked Questions. As you are perusing the website, jot down any questions you might have. Then contact us at gad@pageinc.org or 404-414-3041, to find out if there is a Coordinator already in place for your district. Once your school, or school district has decided to participate in decathlon, complete the online registration form. You'll be sent an invoice for the $200 District Registration fee and $65 Testing fee. A workshop for coaches and decathletes is held in late August or early September each year. This workshop has multiple sessions on topics related to the upcoming GAD season. There is always a round-table discussion for coaches and sessions led by Kennesaw State University professors for the various testing areas. Please visit the GAD Dates and Registration and GAD Fall Workshop pages while you are visiting the website. < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

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Learn More About PAGE STAR. < Back to STAR Home Student Teacher Academic Recognition (STAR) 2025 STAR Region Winners Region 1: Dalton City STAR Student: CenCen Wan STAR Teacher: Mr. Matt Harris School: Dalton High School Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Dalton Region 2: Dawson County STAR Student: Harini Lakkakula STAR Teacher: Mr. Todd Cottrell School: Dawson County High School Local Sponsor: Dawsonville Lions Club Region 3A: Atlanta City STAR Student: Stephen Yang STAR Teacher: Mr. Jason Smith School: Pace Academy Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. Region 3A: Atlanta City STAR Student: Charles Leone STAR Teacher: Dr. Kathy Butts School: The Lovett School Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. Region 3A: Atlanta City STAR Student: Ashley Miller STAR Teacher: Dr. Tina Davis School: The Westminster Schools Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. Region 3A: Cobb County STAR Student: Aanchal Acharya STAR Teacher: Mrs. Sharee Thomas School: Alan C. Pope High School Local Sponsor: Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club Region 3A: Cobb County STAR Student: William Weihao Zhao STAR Teacher: Dr. Alan Farnsworth School: George Walton High School Local Sponsor: Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club Region 3A: Cobb County STAR Student: Fiona Peterson STAR Teacher: Mr. Cameron Ward School: Wheeler High School Local Sponsor: Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club Region 3A: Decatur City STAR Student: Renato Dell'Osso IV STAR Teacher: Mr. David Custer School: Decatur High School Local Sponsor: Decatur Rotary Club Region 3A: Forsyth County STAR Student: Andrew Lin STAR Teacher: Ms. Stephanie Beaulieu School: Lambert High School Local Sponsor: Cumming Kiwanis Club Region 3A: Fulton County STAR Student: Ronak Gautam Vyas STAR Teacher: Ms. Ana Maria Gottlieb School: Alpharetta High School Local Sponsor: Midtown Atlanta Rotary Region 3A: Fulton County STAR Student: Srinidhi Chebrolu STAR Teacher: Mr. Matthew Sharp School: Chattahoochee High School Local Sponsor: Midtown Atlanta Rotary Region 3B: Fayette County STAR Student: Vedita Sawhney STAR Teacher: Mrs. Jacqueline Burgess School: McIntosh High School Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Fayette County Region 4: Oconee County STAR Student: Elliott Ian Rogers STAR Teacher: Mr. Scott Smith School: North Oconee High School Local Sponsor: Oconee County Chamber of Commerce Region 5: Harris County STAR Student: Tate Steele Williams STAR Teacher: Ms. Katie Sizemore School: Harris County High School Local Sponsor: Harris County Schools Region 5: Muscogee County STAR Student: Joanna Catherine Wang STAR Teacher: Ms. Josephine Lumsden School: Brookstone School Local Sponsor: Rotary Club of Columbus Region 6: Bibb County STAR Student: Evan Lin STAR Teacher: Mr. Mark McMahon School: Mount de Sales Academy Local Sponsor: Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce Region 7: Columbia County STAR Student: Jerry Fan STAR Teacher: Dr. John Cato School: Lakeside High School Local Sponsor: Harlem Woman’s Club Region 8: Chatham County STAR Student: Sierra LiuQi Abbasi STAR Teacher: Dr. Kristin Peney School: St. Andrew's School Local Sponsor: Kiwanis Club of Savannah Region 9: Lee County STAR Student: Christopher Patrick Dowling STAR Teacher: Mrs. Lindsey Young School: Lee County High School Local Sponsor: Lee County Chamber of Commerce Region 10: Lowndes County STAR Student: Lokesh Satyasai Ramprasad Tammisetty STAR Teacher: Mr. Taylor Payne School: Lowndes High School Local Sponsor: Azalea City Civic Club Region 11: Wayne County STAR Student: Nicholas Edward Leasure STAR Teacher: Mr. Andy Hursey School: Wayne County High School Local Sponsor: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce RETURN TO STAR HOME Back to Top

Learn More About PAGE STAR. < Back to STAR Home Student Teacher Academic Recognition (STAR) STAR State Winners 2024 STATE PAGE STAR STUDENT AND TEACHER Omer Mustafa Inan, State PAGE STAR Student Tamara Hollingsworth, State PAGE STAR Student Omer Mustafa Inan, second from right, a senior at Cobb County's George Walton High School, is the 2024 PAGE State STAR Student. Tamara Hollingsworth, second from left, an English Teacher at Walton, is the PAGE State STAR Teacher. With them are Vickie Hammond, left, a member of the PAGE Board of Directors, and PAGE Executive Director Craig Harper. 2024 RUNNER-UP STATE PAGE STAR STUDENT AND TEACHER Parv Mahajan, PAGE State Runner-up STAR Student Julia Rachkovskiy, PAGE State Runner-up STAR Student Parv Mahajan of the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, second from right, is the 2024 PAGE State Runner-up STAR Student. Mahajan received the $2,500 SouthState Bank Scholarship. Julia Rachkovskiy, center, a computer science teacher, won the $2,500 SouthState Bank Award for the state runner-up STAR teacher, and the $500 Mozelle Christian Award. Nancy Lewis, SouthState Bank Senior Vice President, was on hand to present the awards with PAGE Board Member Vickie Hammond, second from left, and PAGE Executive Director Craig Harper. STATE AWARDS PRESENTED State PAGE STAR Student Professional Association of Georgia Educators – $7,500 Cash Scholarship State PAGE STAR Teacher Frances Wood Wilson Foundation – $7,500 Cash Award Runner-up State PAGE STAR Student SouthState Bank – $2,500 Cash Scholarship Runner-up State PAGE STAR Teacher SouthState Bank – $2,500 Cash Award Mozelle Christian Foundation – $500 Cash Award In addition to the above sponsors, the STAR Banquet is co-sponsored by business partners. RETURN TO STAR HOME Back to Top

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Congratulations on advancing to the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades State Championship competition! < RETURN TO ACADEMIC BOWL PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades State Championship Information Congratulations on advancing to the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades State Championship competition! Click here for a list of invited teams (Regional Winners). Please return the following by the date indicated: T-shirt Request – This year's order has been placed. You will be able to pick up your shirts at competition. State Roster – online form – if you have changes, please submit a new roster by March 23 Student and Coach Release forms – email or fax by March 23. Release forms must be returned for students to be allowed to participate. Returning them in advance speeds the check-in process. Map – pdf with parking/entrances labeled GCSU’s website DATE: Saturday, January 24 , 2026 - postponed to March 28 INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY: Competition will be postponed if bad weather forces the cancellation of classes at the host location, or if a majority of participating schools are not allowed to travel on competition day. In the event of inclement weather, competition will be rescheduled for the following weekend unless there are extenuating circumstances. Every effort will be made to notify all head coaches via email or telephone if postponement is necessary, and in all instances, notification will be posted at www.pageinc.org/academicbowl . LOCATION: Georgia College, Milledgeville GA – Arts & Sciences Building(there is not a street address – the A&S Building is on a quad, please refer to the directions below and downloadable map for parking and building location) TIME: Registration: 8:00 to 8:30 am (A&S Lobby) Orientation: 8:30 a.m. (A&S Auditorium) Competition: Immediately following Orientation We hope to be through with the morning rounds by 12:30 and the afternoon rounds by 4:00 (at the latest). DIRECTIONS: From Atlanta (heading east): Take 1-20 East to Exit 114 (Madison). Turn right onto Highway 441 South. Follow Highway 441 South to Milledgeville (about 45 miles). Entering Milledgeville, continue straight so that you follow the business section of Hwy. 441 to W Thomas Street. Turn left. Car Parking lot is on the right, just after N Liberty St. From Atlanta (heading south): Take I-75 South and use either Exit 212 or Exit 205 to travel to Jackson, Georgia. In Jackson, take Highway 16 to Monticello, then Highway 212 to Milledgeville. Highway 212 ends at Highway 22. Turn left (Glynn St). Turn left on W Thomas St. Car Parking lot is on the right just after N Liberty St. From Macon: Take Highway 49 to Georgia College & State University. You will be on W Hancock St. Turn left on N Clark St. Turn right on W Thomas St. Car Parking lot is on the right just after N Liberty St. From Augusta or Columbia, S.C.: Take 1-20 West, exit at Camak (Exit 165), follow Route 80 to Warrenton, Highway 16 to Sparta, and Highway 22 to Milledgeville. Turn right on N Wilkinson St. Turn left on W Thomas St. Car Parking lot is on the left just before N Liberty St. From Savannah: Take I-16 West, Exit Highway 441 North at Dublin. Follow 441 North to Highway 49 and turn right (W Hancock St). Turn left on N Clark St. Turn right on W Thomas St. Car Parking lot will be on the right just after N Liberty St. PARKING/FINDING A&S BUILDING: After parking in the W Thomas St lot: walk across Montgomery St and follow the brick path to the Auditorium entrance to the A&S building. (A downloadable map of campus is above.) Buses should park in the lot behind the Kilpatrick Building – entrance on W Thomas just past the lot for cars. COMPETITION FORMAT: Twenty-four (24) teams have been invited to compete at the State Championship competition. A random drawing will divide these teams into four divisions, I, II, III and IV. Teams will complete five round robin matches in the morning. At the end of the round robin the top two teams from each division will be seeded based on their win/loss record (and/or total points if needed). We will break for lunch. After lunch we will conclude with a single-elimination competition (with a consolation bracket – all 8 teams play 3 rounds ). Awards will be given for all 8 teams participating in the final rounds. Matches at the State Championship will have 14 toss-up/bonus pairs and a 10 question worksheet. The final match of the day will be comprised of 16 toss-up/bonus pairs and a 10 question worksheet. ACCOMODATIONS: If you would like to spend the night, you will need to make your own arrangements. Here is a link to the Milledgeville Convention and Visitors Bureau website . Hotels are found under the Hotels tab at the top of the page. FOOD: Due to our venue there will not be any food available for sale during competition. You may bring bottled water and nutritious snacks for your team, but please note that the college does not allow open food or beverages in the A&S auditorium (our gathering place). LUNCH: You may eat in the Georgia College cafeteria or anywhere in town. The per person price for eating in The Max (Georgia College’s cafeteria) is $13.29 (they will only accept debit or credit cards – no cash). If you are one of the top 8 teams, you will need to eat quickly and return to the A&S building for the afternoon rounds of competition. You will NOT have time to go into town to eat. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO STAFF A LARGE COMPETITION WITH EXPERIENCED VOLUNTEERS. PLEASE PLAN TO BRING AN EXPERIENCED VOLUNTEER TO READ OR TIME DURING ROUND ROBIN MATCHES . We are currently short of the number of people that it takes to run the tournament. If we do not have the volunteers needed, coaches will be asked to step into the Reader and Timer roles in the competition rooms. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR BUZZER SYSTEM! Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you at competition on January 24 31! PAGE Academic Bowl State Coordinator Michelle Crawford Direct: 404-414-3041 Fax: 404-480-5136 Email: academicbowl@pageinc.org RETURN TO PAGE ACADEMIC BOWL FOR MIDDLE GRADES HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford Academic Bowl State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Georgia Academic Decathlon Columbus High School Earns First State Title FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Michelle Crawford, State Director PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon mcrawford@pageinc.org Click here for a printable version of this press release. MUSCOGEE’S COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL WINS SCHOOL’S FIRST STATE ACADEMIC DECATHLON TITLE Columbus High School took state championship honors at this year’s Georgia Academic Decathlon State Competition, sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) in partnership with Kennesaw State University. First row (from left) Aaron Dorbu, Patch Hearn, Owen Steele, Tristian Patterson, and Utkarsh Anand . Second row (from left) JC Bush, Katie Krump, Coach Julie Garner, and Sun Choi. Not pictured Carl Tutton. ATLANTA – Mar 3, 2025 – Muscogee County Public Schools’ Columbus High School captured its first PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon (GAD) State Championship. The competition was held Friday, Feb. 21, through Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 at Kennesaw State University. The team scored the highest total points overall in the competition, earning the Howard Stroud Championship Trophy. Columbus High School is a Division I, (based on Round 2 scores) participant, and will be submitted as the Georgia representative to the annual United States Academic Decathlon® (USAD®) National Competition, May 1-3, 2025. This year’s national competition will be in Des Moines, Iowa. Clayton County’s Elite Scholars Academy also earned an invitation to attend USAD’s Nationals as the overall 2nd place team in the State Competition. For the first time, USAD is assigning national teams to divisions based on their scores. In addition to Georgia’s first and second place teams earning the opportunity to compete at in-person nationals, GAD was able to offer bids to the next-highest-scoring teams in state competition as long as the teams were in a different USAD size division than the champions. North Atlanta High School from Atlanta Public Schools, and, Davidson Fine Arts Academy from Richmond County Schools advance to national competition. This is the first appearance for Davidson. USAD also sponsors an Online National Competition for Small, Medium, and Large Schools, based on school enrollment, held in conjunction with the national finals. The Georgia representatives in this category are: · Westover High School from Dougherty County (Large School Online Competition) · Model High School from Floyd County (Medium School Online Competition) · Armuchee High School from Floyd County (Small School Online Competition) In overall scoring, Division I (higher Round 2 scores) winners include: · Champion — Columbus High School , coached by Julie Garner · First Runner-up — Elite Scholars Academy , coached by C. Jack Smith · Second Runner-up — North Atlanta High School , coached by Dr. Deanna Hasty, Dr. Usha Patke, and D’Andra McPhail In overall scoring, Division II (lower Round 2 scores) winners include: · Champion — Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School , coached by Melody Spires-Howe, and James Samaha · First Runner-up — Model High School , coached by Sarah Syverson, Tara Workman, and Angelique Armas-Alvarenga · Second Runner-up — Monroe Comprehensive High School from Dougherty County, coached by Timothy Hardwick, and David Wilschetz Glenn Hills High School from Richmond County, coached by Lutongel Few, and Harry Desile, captured Rookie of the Year honors, awarded to the highest-scoring team making its first appearance at in-person state competition. This year’s Highest Scoring Students are all from Columbus High School. They are: · Varsity: JC Bush · Scholastic: Patrick Hearn · Honor: Owen Steele More than 140 high school students from throughout the state competed in the academic event. The program is unique because each nine-member team is made up of three honor 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 Our Changing Climate . 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: the final event comprised of questions from all seven of the testing areas. This year’s winners in the Super Quiz competition were: · Champion — Columbus High School · First Runner-up — Elite Scholars Academy · Second Runner-up — Westover High School For a complete list of awards and individual medal winners, visit www.pageinc.org/gad/gadstatewinners/ . Now celebrating 50 years of service to Georgia educators and students, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) is the state’s largest and most trusted educator association. PAGE exists to support our members who work in every Georgia public school. Through unparalleled legal coverage, one-on-one coaching, legislative advocacy, professional learning, grants, scholarships, and more, PAGE helps members succeed in all stages of their careers. And, through programs such as STAR (Student and Teacher Achievement Recognition), FGE (Future Georgia Educators), GAD (Georgia Academic Decathlon), and Academic Bowl for Middle Grades, PAGE honors and encourages excellence in education. Professional Association of Georgia Educators PO Box 942270 Atlanta, GA 31141-2270 770-216-8555 / 800-334-6861 < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON VOLUNTEER INFORMATION Georgia Academic Decathlon Speech Judges & Timers Volunteer Information Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024Time: 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Location: Kennesaw State University (more directions in 2024 Speech Volunteer Letter link) Download 2024 Speech Volunteer Letter and Parking Instructions here. Understanding the Speech Rubric Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to judge the Speech event of the PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon. For the few hours of your time spent in this endeavor, you will be rewarded by witnessing the results of the hard work and creativity of some fine young people. The Speech event of PAGE GAD is the least restrictive of the events in that the decathletes can choose their own topic on which to base their prepared speeches. They are cautioned by their coaches that the topic and delivery must be in good taste, but that is about it as far as restrictions. Expect to hear some wildly creative presentations as well as some fairly staid ones. SPEECH JUDGES In the training session you will be instructed as to how to score each section of the Speech Rubric. Download the rubric here. (This is just a sample. All speeches will be scored electronically on a personal device utilizing a Google form.) As a judge you will be listening for the expected development of each speech - opening, body, and conclusion. You will then determine how effective the speech was; that is, how did the audience receive the speech. Was it interesting? The correctness of language is another element to be considered. Does the speaker have command of proper grammar and punctuation? Appropriateness of language will be judged by whether the language promotes clear understanding and fits the occasion. An interesting element to evaluate is speech value. Is the speaker relating something meaningful to you as a listener? The decathletes will have been coached on using the proper voice, using a variety of pitches, volume, and rate to be clearly understood. The last element to be evaluated is the non-verbal aspect. This would include appearance, body language, and mannerisms. During the training session, I will be showing you some examples of speeches which will range from poor to excellent. We will try to set some benchmarks for evaluating each of the elements. If the past is any indicator, your most difficult task will be to score an average speech as average, a poor speech as poor, and to save the highest scores for the truly excellent presentations. I will do my best to help you make those judgments. Be assured that you will be in for a highly entertaining few hours. SPEECH TIMERS Using timers on their personal digital devices or GAD-issued stopwatches, time the competitors' speeches, giving warnings if the speeches are in danger of going over the allotted times. Once the speeches are finished, the Speech Timers record the times so that Speech Judges can issue scoring penalties if necessary. Thanks again for the time you are willing to contribute. Heather Dobson GAD Speech Judges Coordinator Return to Volunteer Information Page < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON VOLUNTEER INFORMATION Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041