2021 Academic Decathlon

Congrats to our IDEA 2021 Academic Decathlon team, who earned 2nd Place Overall for the State of Alaska!

IDEA’s Academic Decathlon team competed this past week (February 25-26, 2021) in the 2021 Academic Decathlon Virtual State Competition and received 2ND PLACE OVERALL, among many other individual awards and other recognition detailed below. 

Our IDEA Homeschool students studied the economics, math, science, literature, art, music and social science of The Cold War, achieving top scores in the essays, speeches, and Super Quiz competitions.

A HUGE thanks to Lori Zulliger, Scott Gingrich, Jen Schutte, and Heather-Lynn Medlin, who gave countless hours to coordinating IDEA’s AcaDeca team this year. Also, a big thank you to all of the kids and families who worked so hard preparing for this arduous competition.  It involves hundreds and hundreds of hours of preparation, and everyone deserves a lot of acclaim and commendation for their hard work and dedication! 

IDEA Homeschool’s Team Awards:

  • 2ND PLACE OVERALL for the State of Alaska!
  • 2ND HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE in IDEA’s history (since 1997!)
  • IDEA won 2 out of 4 speech showcases (which means 2 GOLD medals + we had 1 SILVER medal in speech, as well!)
  • IDEA brought home one-third of all scholarships! Our decathletes were awarded scholarships totaling $6,000!
  • 34 MEDALS were earned for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards!
  • 13 BRONZE medals
  • 12 SILVER medals
  • 9 GOLD medals

What is AcaDeca?

The Alaska Academic Decathlon is an academic competition that:

  • Creates our state’s future leaders,
  • Rewards academic achievements,
  • Brings together teams comprised of students of all GPA levels from around the state,
  • Sends our winning team to represent Alaska at the United States Academic Decathlon.

Each year, the Alaska Academic Decathlon awards up to $24,000 in scholarships.

Interested in participating next year?

High school students can earn high school credits on their transcripts in the topics of:
Science: Marine Biology, Environmental Science
Social Studies: Economics
English: American Literature or World Literature
Electives: Art History, Music Appreciation, and Academic Decathlon

The 2021/2022 Academic Decathlon topic theme is “Water.” Contact our coaches for more information.

Anchorage & Kenai Peninsula: Scott Gingrich
Mat-Su Valley & Southeast Alaska: Lori Zulliger
Fairbanks & Northern Regions: Jen Schutte or Heather-Lynn Medlin