Fort Bend ISD students qualify for academic finals in Singapore
Like any coach, Craig Sanders is proud of his award-winning Fort Bend ISD teams.
With their May 17 performance among 100 competitors from three states at Wunsche Sr. High School in Spring, they qualified to participate in the World Scholar’s Cup global fi- nals.
But time is short to raise the money to cover expenses for competition fees, travel and accommodations for the teens in Singapore. The June 24-27 global finals are expected to draw more than 2,000 students from 40 nations.
“The meet is not being treated as a school-sponsored event and district and/or school funds have not been set aside for the qualifying students,” Sanders explained in an email.
The students have held fundraisers. Sanders said merchants have also contributed support as have the teens’ parents, but they’re still short. So, he has established www.gofundme.com/a1ce34 to help make up the difference.
“I’m a teacher and I follow everything in the educational world pretty closely,” Sanders said. “I see all the negative stories about things that happen. It’s nice for the community to realize there are some outstanding accomplishments by our nation’s youth.
“For that reason, we need to recognize these kids,” he said. “The op- portunity to represent the U.S. in a foreign country like Singapore to be with 2,000 students from 40 countries, that would be an experience not to be seen again.”
The students from Ridge Point High School, the Gifted/Talented Academy at Quail Valley Middle School and Baines Middle School swept team honors at the junior, ages 10-13, and senior levels, ages 1418, at the Houston regional finals, said Sanders.
Sanders said he found the regional finals interesting. He said the competition required students to think analytically while keeping it relevant for the them. Competing as threemember teams, Ridge Point
seniors Joseph Anderson Katie Goss and Alexander Shein won first place at the Houston regionals, while juniors Marleini Ilanga, Samantha Leshikar and Amber Sangil finished fourth. At the junior level, Brady Sanders, Colby Sanders and William Shein defeated morethan 20 other schools to allow Fort Bend students to capture top team honors in both age groups.
Sanders said the girls will not go to the global finals because of a scheduling conflict, but the two first-place teams will. Some members of the teams also belong to Ridge Point’s Academic Decathlon team, which Sanders formed in 2012, two years after the high school opened. Sanders teaches Advanced Placement psychology, College Now/Dual Credit U.S. history and advanced economics.
The high school offers an elective course for students who participate in academic decathlon, said Sanders. After the teens finished studying for the decathlon, they focused on the World Scholar’s Cup competition. A broad approach allows them to study as much material as they can during class, he said.