2024 STAR Region Winners STAR Region 1 Grayson Sneed STAR STUDENT Mr. Billy Singletary STAR TEACHER Whitfield County Coahulla Creek High School Kiwanis Club of Dalton STAR Region 3A Pranaya Balaji STAR STUDENT Mr. Joe League STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Andrew David Fang STAR STUDENT Mr. Doug Wolfe STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Omer Mustafa Inan STAR STUDENT Mrs. Tamara Hollingsworth STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Parv Mahajan STAR STUDENT Ms. Julia Rachkovskiy STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Kinley Michelle Sikes STAR STUDENT Mr. Jason Hardin STAR TEACHER Cherokee County Creekview High School Canton Lions Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Vacha STAR STUDENT Mrs. Andrea Boyce STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County North Gwinnett High School Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Henry Yu STAR STUDENT Mr. Kent Ames STAR TEACHER Forsyth County South Forsyth High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3B Rush William Maples STAR STUDENT Ms. Christie Leanza STAR TEACHER Fayette County Starr's Mill High School Kiwanis Club of Fayette County STAR Region 5 Raymond Yao STAR STUDENT Mrs. Storie Atkins STAR TEACHER Muscogee County Columbus High School Rotary Club of Columbus STAR Region 6 William Steinfeld STAR STUDENT Mrs. Alisha Rochon STAR TEACHER Baldwin County Georgia Military College High School Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 8 Emiline Wayde Baxter STAR STUDENT Mr. AJ Goldman STAR TEACHER Chatham County Savannah Country Day School Kiwanis Club of Savannah STAR Region 9 Evan Jacob Ariail STAR STUDENT Mr. Charles Gammel STAR TEACHER Thomasville City Thomasville High School Kiwanis Club of Thomasville STAR Region 11 Cody Bryan Page STAR STUDENT Mr. Jess Coleman STAR TEACHER Ware County Ware County High School Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 2 Yumeng He STAR STUDENT Mrs. Nicole Ager STAR TEACHER Rabun County Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Rabun County Chamber of Commerce / Forward Rabun, Inc. STAR Region 3A Katherine Taylor Carter STAR STUDENT Ms. Alissa Jean STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Sebastian Flores STAR STUDENT Ms. Caitlen Stovall STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Denmark High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Gordon Lichtstein STAR STUDENT Mr. Henry Tsay STAR TEACHER Decatur City Decatur High School Decatur Rotary Club STAR Region 3A Kyan Nguyen STAR STUDENT Mr. Paul Chance STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Alexander Thomas STAR STUDENT Mr. Brad Davis STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Alliance Academy for Innovation Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Sara Yoder STAR STUDENT Mr. Elliott Reid STAR TEACHER Atlanta City North Atlanta High School Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. STAR Region 3A Hudson Zhou STAR STUDENT Ms. Saru Bhardwaj STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Lambert High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 4 John Nesbit STAR STUDENT Mr. Jake Forrester STAR TEACHER Oconee County Oconee County High School Oconee County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 6 Shiva Kevin Soundappan STAR STUDENT Mr. Daryl Leslie STAR TEACHER Houston County Houston County High School Perry Area Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 7 Samuel Joseph Hobbs STAR STUDENT Mr. Steven Hahn STAR TEACHER Columbia County Evans High School Harlem Woman's Club STAR Region 8 Eli Compton STAR STUDENT Mrs. Ashley Thompson STAR TEACHER Bulloch County Statesboro High School Bulloch County Foundation STAR Region 10 James Lanford Scott STAR STUDENT Mr. Jonathan Payne STAR TEACHER Lowndes County Lowndes High School Azalea City Civic Club

Serving members in Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Pelham City, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Thomasville City, Webster, and Worth < Back Michele Dechman Membership Services Representative mdechman@pageinc.org Michele has served as a PAGE MSR since 2022. Following a 30-year career in public schools, she continues to be an advocate for teachers. Michele loves visiting schools, making connections with educators, and sharing the many benefits of PAGE membership. Michele, who lives in Thomasville, Georgia received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida State University and her specialist degree from Valdosta State University. She is married to an educator and has one son attending Kennesaw State University. In her free time, Michele enjoys watching sports, reading fiction, and getting creative with canvas paintings.

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD General FAQs Click here to access the GAD Essay FAQs Click here to access the GAD Speech FAQs Q: Is it OK to offer Academic Decathlon as a class? A: Several Georgia schools do and have very successfully offered the decathlon curriculum as an elective course in the last few years. The number of schools offering the curriculum as an elective course is growing. Some schools do not because few kids would be able to fit it into their schedule due to AP and Fine Arts classes. Q: What kinds of materials should a team purchase? A: A successful team can simply purchase the basic USAD materials (around $700 for a license to download the materials for unlimited students at one school). Additional materials are also available from USAD and some outside vendors. Many coaches find purchasing the practice tests and some other study materials helpful, but not necessary. Occasionally, books and other resources can be found and purchased from the bookstore that relate to the topic (e.g., the year we studied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a nice Lewis and Clark diary was available for purchase for $2.99). Q: What kind of outside resources should a team acquire? A: Other than the USAD materials just use the library/internet to independently research most things. Q: How can coaches know what is going to be on the tests? A: You can never really know for sure what will be on the tests other than the published allocated percentages for subcategories (e.g., 20% of Art is fundamental concepts). Sometimes, there are questions that surprise the students. The practice and scrimmage tests (USAD packages) are helpful to understand the format of the questions for each subject area. Coaches are never to administer the tests, see the tests, or be in the same room with any of the tests — even if it is after the administration. Q: Are there places to obtain additional resources? A: The official website www.usad.org is a good resource. Images of all of the art pieces are available online as are several other resources including curriculum outlines. Q: How does Academic Decathlon work as an Independent study course work? A: Students who are identified as gifted in their school records can take a course during 9th-12th grades called “Directed Study”. The one-semester class gives gifted students a chance to independently study a topic of interest to them. They select the curriculum and they keep track of their progress and even calculate their own grade (with teacher oversight). Students can weave the Academic Decathlon curriculum into their Directed Study curriculum contract quite easily. Q: How can you prepare students for the nebulous/vague topics (e.g. calculus)? A: Other than paying attention to the types of questions on the practice/scrimmage tests, the best thing coaches can do is to make sure that the students really understand the basic concepts. Some students may have thorough knowledge of several subjects from previous courses and they can be assets to their teammates. Q: How do you recruit students for the team? A: Advertise your team meetings, mention Decathlon in your classes, invite students to bring other students, and always have food available. The minimum number of students you need for a legal team is six students, the maximum number is nine. Finding the right students is the key. The final team must have two to three students whose USAD GPA fits into each of the Honor, Scholastic, and Varsity categories. Q: How often does your team practice? A: Meet at least twice a week for about 2 hours each time. Some teams meet before school and on weekends; others rarely do. However, this is very common in other states like California, Texas, Arizona, and Massachusetts . . Much of what the students need to know, they can learn independently. The more time the team spends practicing together, the better they will know the material, and the better they will do at the events. Q: How do you prepare students for the various subject areas? A: Use the personal resources available to you in your school and family. The areas that teams often need outside help for are Music and Art. Preparing for the performance areas (speech, interview, and essay), however, is very rewarding. It is really rewarding to observe a shy student develop confidence in him/herself as they get better and better at public speaking. After all, this is one of the purposes of Academic Decathlon. < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

< Back to GAD Home 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 HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

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Serving members in Buford City and Gwinnett County < Back Donna James Membership Services Representative djames@pageinc.org Donna joined PAGE as a consultant in 2025 before becoming a MSR in 2026 serving Gwinnett County and Buford City school districts. Following a 32-year teaching career in public schools, she continues to be an advocate for teachers and public education. Prior to her role with PAGE, she was a PAGE Ambassador for the association and a supervising teacher for future educators at University of North Georgia. Donna, who lives in Hall County, Georgia, received her bachelor's, master's, and specialist degrees from Brenau University. She is married and has one son who is the Golf Pro at Jennings Mill Country Club in Athens, Georgia. In her free time, Donna enjoys watching sports (UGA), reading, and spending quality time with family and friends.

< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon About GAD The PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon, which began in 1987, focuses on the importance of developing well-rounded individuals and provides an antidote to intellectual apathy and underachievement. This program provides incentive for average students, underachieving students, above-average students as well as academically talented students, to become interested in intellectual activities. Georgia Academic Decathlon opens the door to academic achievement for all students. If you are interested in forming a Decathlon team, or would like to learn more about the program, we invite you to watch the video (approximately seven minutes). Or you can read additional information about the program below. https://vimeo.com/868745801 Or click here to view a video produced by the United States Academic Decathlon® . (approximately 16-minute video) Sponsors for PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon are: PAGE Foundation The Professional Association of Georgia Educators PAGE thanks our partner Kennesaw State University for its valuable contribution to the PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon. 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 three Honor students (GPA 3.8 – 4.0), three Scholastic students (GPA 3.2 – 3.799) and three Varsity students (GPA 0.0 – 3.199). 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, three 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 three 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. Some schools have been able to implement elective classes to focus on the yearly Academic Decathlon curriculum and to bring the information to a larger group of students. Click here for more information about providing GAD as an elective course. 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 the approval of 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. Essay The Essay event in the Georgia Academic Decathlon is conducted online approximately two weeks prior to State Competition. GAD will arrange for an online practice login session in the days leading up to the competition day. 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 the published essay rubric. Click here to download the rubric. Students should be given the following as they enter the testing room: 1) the Student Code of Conduct, 2) the student instructions. Students must sign the Code of Conduct and pass it back to the proctor before beginning the writing. The coaches may sign these forms after the testing. 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 reading, 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, submit the online registration form and pay the $200 District Registration fee. You’ll also need to purchase the USAD curriculum. The basic curriculum package is $700 and is purchased directly from the National organization – www.usad.org . Schools who have never participated before (or not participated for the last 7 years) have the option to receive a one-time curriculum grant from USAD. Your State Director can get you the grant form if you’re interested. A school participating in their second year may complete a grant form to get half-price curriculum. 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 page 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

< RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON STATE WINNERS Georgia Academic Decathlon 2026 Medalists Art Varsity Gold Parker Hazely Columbus High School Muscogee County Silver Jackie Pimentel-Martinez Rockdale Magnet Rockdale County Bronze Samuel Morris North Atlanta High School Atlanta Public Schools Angela Sears Model High School Floyd County Scholastic Gold Ryan Conley North Atlanta High School Atlanta Public Schools Silver Aubrey Holmes Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Bronze Jacob Inthasone Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Honor Gold Sun Choi Columbus High School Muscogee County Silver Brynn Proctor Model High School Floyd County Bronze Gabriel Liscano Columbus High School Muscogee County < RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON STATE WINNERS Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

< Back to FGE Home Future Georgia Educators FGE Day Registration Before you register … If you are an affiliated chapter, have your promo code ready. You will type it in during the checkout process. Have a list of who is definitely attending. Remember that we are unable to cancel a ticket once you have registered. Better to add folks later–but do it by the registration deadline! IMPORTANT NOTE: PAGE and the host university are not responsible for chaperoning any students who attend. Please bring enough adults to chaperone your entire group. A good rule of thumb is one adult per 10-15 students. Thank you! Include everyone on your list: students, adults, bus driver (if he/she plans to eat with us), etc. If possible, determine whether you will be able to stay for the entire event. Should you need to leave early to get your bus back, we understand! But knowing this in advance will help us plan better and prevent our presenters from staring at an empty room! Determine if your group will participate in the optional campus tour at the end of the day, if offered (start time approximately 2:15; duration approximately 30 minutes). Have access to a printer or the ability to save a pdf so that you can print or save your order confirmation/invoice . If you are paying by credit card, have that info ready. Or you can mail a check. Please make payable to PAGE, enclose a copy of your order confirmation/invoice and mail to: FGE Attn: Michelle Crawford PO Box 937 Young Harris, GA 30582 Are you ready? Click here, and you will select your date/location from the FGE events calendar. NOTE: If you have any difficulty with the online registration system, you may need to clear your browser’s cache . If you have further difficulties, please contact Mary Ruth Ray at maryruth@pageinc.org or 912-237-1899. RETURN TO FUTURE GEORGIA EDUCATORS HOME Back to Top

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View the list of State STAR Winners from 1959 to present. < Back to STAR Home Student Teacher Academic Recognition (STAR) STAR State Winners Since 1959 Year STAR STUDENT STAR TEACHER SCHOOL 2026 Dominic Hantula Jason Smith PACE Academy 2025 Ronak Gautam Vyas Ms. Ana Maria Gottlieb Alpharetta High School 2024 Omer Mustafa Inan Mrs. Tamara Hollingsworth George Walton High School 2023 Titoluwa Ibukunoluwa Alofe John Campbell Starr’s Mill High School 2022 Jon Qiaoen Liu Rebecca Martin Lowndes High School 2021 Riley Durbin Mr. Stuart Reynolds South Forsyth High School, Forsyth 2019 Joyce Liu Mrs. Rebecca Martin Lowndes High School, Lowndes 2018 Devon Boatright Dr. Grant Fossum Douglas County High School, Douglas 2017 Bill Zhang Ms. Ashley Ulrich Northview High School, Fulton 2016 Rohan Rao Dr. Jack Bucsko Johns Creek High School, Fulton 2015 Carter Lewis Guensler Mr. Lee Pope Henry W. Grady High School, Atlanta 2014 Anastasia (Audy) Mulia Mr.Thomas Wellnitz Alpharetta High School, Fulton Return to STAR Home