Nearly 500 Academic Decathletes from throughout California joined Madera County’s high school competitors in Madera for the 20th annual Academic Decathlon Lecture Day.
Valley experts lectured on five subject areas pertaining to this year’s Decathlon topic, “Journeys of Transformation: An Exploration of Travel and Transportation.”
“We were pleased to welcome decathletes from across California to Madera County for a day of learning and connection,” said Tricia Protzman, Madera County Superintendent of Schools. “Lecture Day gave students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of this year’s topics, build connections with their teammates, and meet fellow decathletes from schools throughout the state.”
Decathletes attended four out of the five sessions throughout the day. Sessions included: Travel and Transportation in Art, presented by Susana Sosa, Fresno City College professor; Literature, Remains of the Day, presented by Tiffiny Remmer, from the Fresno County Library; Travel and Transportation in Music, presented by Dr. Harmony Murphy, Madera Community College professor; An Introduction to Human Geography and Migration, presented by Joe Casarez, Madera County Superintendent of Schools director; and Speech, presented by Mike Nelson, Madera Community College professor.
The lectures were held at Movies Madera. Each speaker lectured in a theater and students moved to the different theaters. Each expert lectured for at least two 50-minute sessions.
Movies Madera owner Bob Gran donated the theater for the event. The event is sponsored by Madera County Schools Foundation and Madera County Superintendent of Schools.
“We are grateful to Mr. Gran, and the entire staff at Movies Madera, for making the theater available for Lecture Day and working so hard to ensure students had a positive experience,” said Protzman.
Each session was geared toward the topics and areas of study for the 2027 Academic Decathlon. Decathletes will be tested in the areas of art, economics, language and literature, math, music, science, and social science. They will also write an essay, deliver a speech, and participate in an interview.
This year Madera County will have seven schools participate: Chowchilla Union High School, Glacier High School Charter, Liberty High School, Madera High School, Madera South High School, Matilda Torres High School, and for the first time, Sherman Thomas High School Charter. The competition will be held on Jan. 30, 2027.
For more information about the Academic Decathlon and ways to get involved, contact Kristi Winter, events coordinator for Madera County Superintendent of Schools at (559) 662-3873.