Platinum Level
Gold Level
Silver Level
Bronze Level
Our Mission
As Catholic school educators, we affirm that each young person entrusted to our care has been endowed by God with marvelous intellectual gifts and talents. The California Catholic Schools Academic Junior High Decathlon (or AJHD) strives to bring forth some of those academic talents and celebrate them in the context of spirit-filled competition. The five goals of the Decathlon are:
- to promote academic excellence
- to promote collaborative spirit and cooperative learning skills
- to promote logical and higher order thinking
- to recognize the contributions of parents, teachers, school administrators, and business and community members in supporting high standards for all students; and
- to celebrate the diversity, excellence, and tradition of Catholic schools
History
The Catholic Schools Academic Decathlon was founded in September of 1989 by Dr. Mark Ryan who was then a junior high teacher at St. Aloysius School in south-central Los Angeles. Dr. Ryan had a vision for an academic event to parallel the athletic competitions so prevalent in schools. What began as a tiny competition involving a handful of schools from the greater Los Angeles area has grown to become a nationwide event involving Catholic junior high students from across the United States.
The Decathlon is under the guiding jurisdiction of the California Catholic State Superintendents Curriculum Committee (CCSSCC).
A National AJHD Executive Subcommittee was formed under the CCSSCC to provide input and establish consistent AJHD standards. It is made up of members from Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco.