Published On: April 2nd, 2015By Leticia Fehling

MacArthur High School Student Advances to National Academic Decathlon Competition

MacArthur-High-School-Student-Isidro-Jasso-Advances-to-National-Academic-Decathlon-Individual-Competition-Stand-With-Coaches-James-Fons-and-Melissa-Solano-1

Isidro Jasso (center) with Fons and Solano.

Isidro Jasso from [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]MacArthur High School will take part this month in the final round of the national Academic Decathlon. He will compete as an individual.

The junior student advanced after qualifying through the online individual testing in March.

The [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]United States Academic Decathlon® is a 10-event scholastic competition for high school students. They compete in speech, interview, essay, literature, and math. They also show their knowledge in science, social science, art, economics, and music.

The Academic Decathlon® is unique. A typical team has nine members: three “A” students, three “B” students and three “C” students. They must work together as a team to achieve a specific goal.

The Academic Decathlon® created the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Individual Competition to help students achieve their academic goals. Participants of the Online Individual Competition have an opportunity to advance to nationals. The Academic Decathlon® limits the number of slots available.

Isidro received the invitation to compete at the USDA® National Competition late in March. The contest is set for April 16-18 in Garden Grove, CA.

“I feel that my hard work has paid off,” Isidro said. “And I am proud to be representing my school at a national competition. My family is proud of me and so are my friends. To me, this means that if you work hard enough, you’ll get to be where you want to be.“

The competition has a theme of study or focus each year. This year’s theme is “New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation.”

Melissa Solano and James Fons are proud of Isidro. They coach the Academic Decathlon team at the campus. Solano and Fons serve as English teachers at MacArthur High School.

“We are proud of Isidro’s growth as a Decathlon student,” Solano said. “He has consistently challenged himself to become competitive. His dedication has paid off. It’s been a joy to have seen Isidro’s transformation into a confident competitor. He is one of the most humble students I’ve ever met. It is always exciting to see a deserving student get recognized for their hard work and commitment.“

Fons shared that MacArthur has taken part in the Academic Decathlon for more than 20 years. Over the last 10 years, the campus showed consistent improvement. In the last five years, MacArthur has been the strongest Academic Decathlon school in the district. The campus performs strongly in regional competitions. The MacArthur Decathlon team has competed at the state and national competition. Two years ago, three students advanced to the national competition in the individual category. That was the first time MacArthur had students at nationals. Isidro Jasso is now the fourth student from MacArthur to take part in the national competition.

“Two years ago, three students advanced to the national competition in the individual category,” Fons said. “That was the first time MacArthur had students at nationals. Isidro Jasso is now the fourth student from MacArthur to take part in the national competition. The Academic Decathlon program is great for students,” Fons said. “The program helps students develop good study habits. And it helps build self-motivation. These skills help them prepare to match intellect with others through competition. These are also skills that will help them in college and in their professional careers.“