A call for Academic Decathlon volunteers

The California Academic Decathlon Championship needs a few good volunteers this month for the virtual competitive event, modeled after the Olympics to stimulate academic achievement and honor “athletes of the mind.”

For the past 41 years, CAD has provided this country’s most prestigious academic competition thanks to the support of our volunteers, Ken Scarberry, state event director, said in a press release issued Wednesday.

The competition, featuring some 650 students from 78 California high schools, consists of 10 events, including tests in art, music, language and literature, mathematics, economics, science, and social science, he noted.

In addition, there are communication tests that include the writing of an essay, the delivery of a prepared and an impromptu speech, and an interview.

For more information, call 646-7603 or send an email to info@academicdecathlon.org.

Volunteers do not need to be familiar with the Academic Decathlon to volunteer, said Scarberry, who also is the director of youth development at the Solano County Office of Education in Fairfield.

Volunteer essay readers are needed through March 18, and the reading schedule is flexible. Essay readers do not need to be familiar with the essay topics. Readers receive a summary of the prompts with bullet points to assist with reading and scoring essays. Readers will read at their own pace and will be assigned approximately 30 to 35 essays to read and score. Volunteers will be required to participate in a virtual orientation for judges and to read materials sent before the event.

Speech judges are needed from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. March 20. As a judge, you will be paired with another community member or members to judge prepared and impromptu speeches. Likewise, volunteers will be required to participate in a virtual orientation for judges and to read materials sent before the event.

Interview judges also are needed from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. March 20. Judges will be paired with another community member or members, conduct structured interviews with pre-assigned questions, evaluate each participant’s performance in accord with predetermined criteria. Again, volunteers will be required to participate in a virtual orientation for judges and to read materials sent before the event.

If interested and ready to sign up, complete the online volunteer registration application at www.academicdecathlon.org.