Cheers for the Home Teams

What a run.

For the third year in a row, students from Alemany High School in Mission Hills beat other private schools in Southern California to win a spot at the state Academic Decathlon. And for the fifth time, students from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills swept the Los Angeles Unified School District competition. Now, as they have over and over, the two teams will face off in March to battle once again for the state championship.

No matter who wins, the determination of these students deserves the kind of praise so rarely bestowed on kids who don’t run defense or knock out home runs. Under the guidance of teachers who spend countless hours after school and on weekends, these young people take their minds to new places and defy the stereotypes of brainless slackers.

They battle each other with their minds, matching wits against the brightest kids from schools across Southern California, the state and the nation. Amid the grim news that so often flows from schools these days, these bright students remind us that good things are happening, too. For Alemany and El Camino Real, it’s become something of a habit.

What a run.