Studies in Decathlon Success

El Camino Real High School student and academic decathlon team member Dmitry Miroshnichenko got it right in more ways than one.

For the fifth year in a row, El Camino won the Los Angeles Unified School District’s annual battle of the brains. Miroshnichenko’s response?

“This is awesome.”

It is indeed.

The Woodland Hills school continued its winning streak by besting 57 other high schools from throughout the district.

For those who think nothing good can come out of Los Angeles schools, here is proof otherwise.

Coached by teachers who put in extra hours on nights and weekends, these student scholars spend months preparing for tests in music, math, literature, economics, fine arts and social studies. They compete in essay, interview and speech competitions. Finally they take part in a game-show style Super Quiz before an audience of parents and supporters.

And it’s not over yet. From here it’s on to the state competition, scheduled for next month in Los Angeles. In April, the state winner will go on to San Antonio to compete for the national championship, which El Camino won in 1998.

El Camino’s nine-member team is, as Miroshnichenko so succinctly put it, awesome, but it is not the only San Fernando Valley team that deserves congratulations. Burbank High School will also go on to the state competition, having placed third in the Los Angeles County competition. And Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills won an earlier private school regional decathlon.

Placing in the top 10 in the district competition were Grant High School in Valley Glen in sixth place and North Hollywood High School in ninth. A team from Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Reseda deserves kudos for winning the award for most improved team.

True, much work needs to be done to improve Los Angeles schools. But with all the grim news, it’s especially sweet to celebrate the good. And then it’s time to get to work on the problems. Or, again as Miroshnichenko said, “We’re going to party tonight, and then go back to studying.”