Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, November 17, 2008

Hundreds of students and supporters rolled out of bed early on a dreary, drizzly Saturday morning because they were excited about the Academic Challenge Invitational.

“All the students are winners,” said Karolyn Kell, project consultant at One Community, One Voice, which sponsors the program along with FCPS. Kell cited the “amazing commitment” of the estimated 1,800 students as well as the growing participation of their families as cheerleaders, coaches and moderators.

Since 2004, One Community, One Voice initiatives have focused on getting parents more involved in their children’s education. The centerpiece has been the Academic Challenge, which aims to foster a culture that encourages all children to embrace education as a worthy endeavor, allows all students a chance to compete in rigorous academic contests, and prepares kids to compete for the “big prize” – a good life and a bright future.

All Fayette County Public School students in grades 1-5 are eligible to participate in the Academic Challenge on either an intermediate team (grades 4 and 5) or a primary team (grades 1, 2 and 3). Teams are formed in schools or at neighborhood sites.

In competition, the teams are divided up three per classroom. A moderator reads a question, and the children have 45 seconds to confer and write their team’s answer on a white board. Each round consists of 20 questions, and each correct answer is worth a point. In the single-elimination format, the winning team moves on to the next round. Ultimately, the three top teams meet in the auditorium for the finals. First-, second- and third-place awards are presented, and each student receives an academic excellence award.

About 300 teams competed Saturday Nov. 15 in this year’s first event. Here are the results:

Primary Division:

• 1^st: Meadowthorpe Team A (Emma Berger, Sophie Berger, Gus Carlson, Kelly Chen, Natalie Humphreys and Zack Wang; coaches: Nicola Berger and Hong Gow)
• 2^nd: Picadome Team E (Emma Mathews, Ben Camuel, Luke Sills, Bailee Hughes, Grace Goff and Jasmine Perry-Grice; coach: Cody Russelburg)
• 3^rd: Clays Mill Team D (Elizabeth Lippert, Casey Cowden and Karina Henson; coach: Rich Cowden)

Intermediate Division:

• 1^st: Dixie Team E (Dara Bockrath, Anthony Tamasi, Amelia Rogers, Kaitlyn Kelley, Taegen McCarty and Halleigh Shackelford; coach: Terry Watson)
• 2^nd: Lansdowne C (Kayla Carter, Julia Loveday, Darcey Long, Omer Bakoush and Jerrod Preece; coach: Cari Boyd)
• 3^rd: Veterans Park Team B (Dylain Wain, Griffin Allen, Julia Wilson, Andrew Wachal, Matthew Yonts and Megan Crouch; coach: Angie and David Allen)

Next up

The Academic Challenge series also includes the Principal’s Cup, scheduled for Jan. 24, and the Superintendent’s Cup, set for March 7.

Want to help?

If you would like to be a moderator, contact Andrea Downs for more details.