Congratulations to the Valencia High School (VHS) Academic Decathlon (AD) team for their third place finish in Orange County and for qualifying to participate in this year’s California State Academic Decathlon in Santa Clara! Kudos to all of the coaches and members of this outstanding team of young scholars for a success that reflects well not only on VHS but on the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) as a whole.
Valencia’s performance places its team among the elite schools in Orange County and the state of California. The only two schools scoring higher than the Tigers in Orange County were perennial champion Woodbridge, and University High, both in Irvine. The two teams that scored ahead of VHS rank among the most elite public schools in the country.
While there are many highly demanding academic competitions, Academic Decathlon is unique in that it requires students to perform in a great variety of subject areas. Success in AD thus reflects outstanding programs at VHS in Science, Math, Literature, Social Studies, and the Arts. Moreover, because the competition requires performance from students across the Grade Point Average spectrum, this achievement also reflects exceptional programs at VHS for students who may not have the background or who work with challenges to learning. In other words, congratulations goes to the entire staff at VHS. However, it is not just the staff at VHS that should be credited.
The collaborative relationship between the Middle Schools in our district, especially the one with Kraemer, should also be credited for this success. The innovative relationship between Kraemer Middle School (KMS) and VHS is the product of creative leadership in the district that goes back decades.
Central to VHS’ recent success in AD is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. The dedicated staff and visionary administrators who built this program over many years deserve great credit. Within a few years of its inception, VHS achieved the highest number of IB diploma recipients in Orange County, a distinction it maintains to this day.
These diploma recipients have gone on to attend the most prestigious universities in the world, including the greatest tech academies such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and CalTech. One can easily trace the career trajectories of VHS IB diploma recipients into every high tech hub, from Silicon Valley to Boston, Seattle to Princeton, Irvine to New York, San Diego to Chicago. The beauty of the VHS program, though, is not just in its development of elite scholars.
AD success reflects the accomplishments of VHS relative to the broader student community. The outstanding Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and English Language Development programs have ensured all students access to academic excellence. It is often the students from these programs who embrace the challenge of the most demanding classes and thus provide the key to success for VHS AD, because AD requires that each team be represented by students from three distinct GPA categories. VHS has managed to build bridges between different socio-economic groups in our community. As such, it provides a great case study in how we should go about building “one nation.”
VHS AD thus provides a microcosm of the excellence of VHS as a whole, while also reflecting a legacy that goes back decades. When one thinks of the key administrators and staff who have contributed to the greatness of VHS over decades, a few names come to mind. No one was more central to the founding vision of IB than retired principal James Bell. Rick Lopez made great contributions to advancing the ValTech program and the collaboration between VHS and KMS. Joey Davis also contributed to advancing STEM education at VHS. Mr. Davis brought excellent background both in Math education as well as Information Technology. Other key administrators who ensured that the IB program operated to the benefit of ALL students on campus included Jamie Jauch and Nancy Watkins. VHSAD success is a tribute to their legacy at VHS and in the PYLUSD.
May the Tigers abide!
Etiologies 