AUBURN, CA (MPG) - This February, three Placer County teams competed in the 2021 Placer County Academic Decathlon - the premier scholastic competition for high school students across the county -- with Rocklin High School taking top honors scoring 21,764 points. This is the first time the school has won the countywide competition. The team now advances to the state finals, which will be held in March 2021.

“Academic Decathlon teams spend months preparing for this demanding competition,” said Placer County Superintendent of Schools Gayle Garbolino-Mojica. “In addition to mastering the extensive academic content, students learn about teamwork, goal setting, planning and leadership – all qualities which make our region gold in education."

Teams from Rocklin High School, Roseville High School and Western Sierra Collegiate Academy represented Placer County in the competition with each team comprised of nine students -- three "Honors" students with “A” grade averages, three "Scholastic" students with “B” averages, and three "Varsity" students with “C” averages -- who compete against those with the same grade point average.

The competition was held virtually over the past several weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions. Students focused on the topic, "The Cold War" across 10 categories including art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, mathematics, music, science, social science and speech. The Decathlon normally culminates with a “Super Quiz” held in a high school gym, with teams competing in front of a large cheering audience. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, an in-person competition was not possible this year, so testing, speeches and interviews were conducted online.

About Placer County Office of Education
Nestled in the Sierra Foothills, Placer County Office of Education (PCOE) serves nearly 75,000 students in sixteen individual school districts across Placer County. In order to serve the students of Placer County, PCOE provides an array of programs and service to meet student needs. This task is accomplished by providing high-quality specialized programs for students; recruiting, retaining and developing highly qualified staff; and monitoring fiscal accountability and expenditures of our tax dollars. For more information, please visit www.placercoe.org.