L.A. Schools Find Respect at U.S. Academic Decathlon

Back home, the Los Angeles Unified School District gets about as much respect as the woeful L.A. Clippers. But here at the national Academic Decathlon finals, the school district is treated more like the Chicago Bulls. The school district has produced so many winning decathlon teams that when the team from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills arrived in Atlanta this week to vie for the national title, their competitors quaked at the specter of a dynasty.

“California is certainly the team we fear the most,” said Richard Golenko, coach of the highly regarded squad from J. Frank Dobie High School in Houston. “Having provided the national champions for the last two consecutive years, its record speaks for itself.”

Los Angeles school administrators are painfully aware of the irony: Their embattled school district, which has a dropout rate nearing 40%, has to fly its students practically cross-country to get respect.

“This event means a great deal to us,” said Dan Isaacs, the district’s assistant superintendent. “It reflects that our kids can compete with anyone in the country and excel.”

Indeed, Los Angeles has sent a record eight teams to represent California in the national Academic Decathlon competition, four of which went on to capture the national title.

In theory, any of the more than 40 teams from across the state that compete in the annual California Academic Decathlon have a shot at winning the state title and advancing to the national finals. But teams from three Los Angeles high schools--John Marshall in Los Feliz and Taft and El Camino, both from Woodland Hills--have dominated the state event over the last decade.

“The bad elements may be worse in Los Angeles, but the trade-off is that the good elements are just that much better,” said Dale Shuger, a member of El Camino’s academic decathlon team. “But it’s usually only the bad kids that make it into the paper, not the good ones.”

The ambition of Los Angeles teams to make the nationals is fueled by hundreds of teachers, students and parents who dedicate thousands of hours each year to preparing the teams, Shuger said.

As a result, when California squads, particularly those from Los Angeles, arrive at the national finals, they are revered by their competitors--some of whom are shocked to learn that the L.A. district has such a bad reputation at home.

“I’m surprised because they always produce such competitive teams,” Golenko said.

Other teams have a distinct reaction when they spot the students in the sharp blue satin jackets embroidered with a quote from Winston Churchill: “Victory, however long and hard the road may be!”

Ask just about anyone involved in the competition who the favored teams are and it’s almost a given that they will rattle off the Golden State squad among the top contenders.

“California, Texas and Illinois,” said Michael Bates, who coaches a team from Spartanburg, S.C. “They’re always the three heavyweights.”

This year’s contest, which began Friday with speech and essay tests, will end today with the annual Super Quiz event, a loud affair in which parents and teachers root on students in a “College Bowl”-type setting. The winner of the 10-event competition will be announced Sunday at an awards banquet.