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Harmony Magnet Academy repeats as Academic Decathlon champions for third year in a row

HMA overall winners

And the winner is – Harmony Magnet Academy!

This past Saturday, Harmony Magnet Academy (Strathmore) won its third-straight overall Tulare County Academic Decathlon title after its stellar performance in the weeks-long competition. This is Harmony’s second three-peat since a 2012, 2013, and 2014 run.

Harmony won with a team score of 34,736.1 points and will represent Tulare County at the state Academic Decathlon championship, held late March in Santa Clara.

This year’s championship team was composed of Danny Rodriguez, Judith Gomez, Kris Kashyap, Shivaraj Thiagarajan, Claire Holly, Thor Pearce, Alexander Delgado, Elisabeth Ceballos, and Owen Newsom. The team was coached by Kimberly Marsh.

All Academic Decathlon teams are comprised of two to three students in each of three grade divisions: Honors (GPA 3.800 and higher), Scholastic (GPA 3.200-3.799), and Varsity (GPA 3.199 and below).

Individual Winners

Harmony’s Rodriguez repeated as the Top Honors and overall top-scoring decathlete. Cova Angulo-Beltran of Golden West High School (Visalia) was the Top Scholastic winner, and Harmony’s Delgado was the Top Varsity individual winner.

The top students in each category were:

Art: Danny Rodriguez, Harmony Magnet Academy

Economics: Stone Martin, El Diamante High School

Essay: Owen Howland, El Diamante High School

Interview: Dani Ramos, Harmony Magnet Academy

Literature: Penelope Martin, El Diamante High School

Math: Stone Martin, El Diamante High School

Music: Stone Martin, El Diamante High School AND Danny Rodriguez, Harmony Magnet Academy

Science: Judith Gomez, Harmony Magnet Academy

Social Science: Danny Rodriguez, Harmony Magnet Academy

Speech: Cova Angulo-Beltran, Golden West High School

Also receiving an award on Saturday was El Diamante High School for their victory in the Super Quiz competition.

Along with the trophies, medals, and awards given out this year, some decathletes also received scholarships from an anonymous donor.

“This year we were approached by an anonymous donor from the community,” said Student Events Coordinator Paula Terrill. “They have generously sponsored, through the Tulare County Office of Education Foundation, scholarships to all top-scoring students from each school, top-scoring students on each test, and the top-scoring student overall. This award recognizes their outstanding achievements at the 2025 Tulare County Academic Decathlon competition, and the promise they show as a student. We hope this contribution helps support them in their educational pursuits.”

The top-scoring students from each school were Rodriguez from Harmony Magnet Academy, Angulo-Beltran from Golden West High School, Stone Martin from El Diamante High School, Jose Sanchez from Orosi High School, and Mina Bacarevic from Dinuba High School.

Also recognized this year were students who had participated in the Academic Decathlon for at least two years or participated in at least one state championship, and received a score of at least 4,000 points. These students received an honor cord to wear at their graduation. Receiving honor cords from El Diamante were Kevin Avila-Arias, Nevaeh Ames, and Stone Martin. Harmony’s honor cord recipients were Isabel Aguilar, Alexandra Carino, Elisabeth Ceballos, Alexander Delgado, Judith Gomez, Danny Rodriguez, Ahla Saleh, and Shivaraj Thiagarajan.

Honor Cord recipients

Photos above:

~ Harmony Magnet Academy (Strathmore) was the overall winner of this year's Tulare County Academic Decathlon.

~ The top individual scoring decathletes were (l-r) Danny Rodriguez (Honors) of Harmony Magnet Academy, Cova Angulo-Beltran (Scholastic) of Golden West High School, and Alexander Delgado (Varsity) of Harmony Magnet Academy.

~ Students who had participated in the Academic Decathlon for at least two years or participated in at least one state championship, and received a score of at least 4,000 points, were presented with honor cords to wear at their graduations.

Students invited to participate in Region 7 CISC Arts survey

PaintThe Region 7 CISC Arts subcommittee – representing Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare counties (Highway 99 Arts) – invites students from area high schools to participate in a unique opportunity aimed at honoring and celebrating student voice.

With the support of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative, the Region 7 team has worked over the last year to develop a survey instrument to determine students’ interests, barriers, and collective vision for the future of the arts in the Highway 99 region. (The arts are defined as: dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.) The questions on this survey were developed in partnership with researchers and students from area high schools. This project is student-led, student-driven, and student-focused, all with an end goal of ensuring that student voice is front and center. 

“As we move into a new era of arts education in California, spurred by the additional funding provided by Proposition 28, it is critical that we continue working to provide arts courses, programming, and experiences which will meet the needs and curiosities of ALL students,” said Region 7 CISC Arts Co-Lead Kate Stover. “In order to do this effectively, the first step is to connect with students directly to get their thoughts and feedback on current in-school arts opportunities.” This survey is the first of its kind to be administered across the region and the team looks forward to learning directly from area students. The data gathered will be synthesized into tools, resources, and systems of support that can inform local, regional, and statewide conversations about arts education.

The survey is open to all 9-12 graders, whether they currently take any arts courses or not. It should take students about 15 minutes to complete. The survey will close on February 28, 2025 and is available at: https://bit.ly/ArtsVoice

For more information or questions, contact Kate Stover at kate.stover@tcoe.org.

Instructional Services departments collaborate to support English learners

Lady presenting

Last week, staff from Educational Resource Services (ERS) and Leadership Support Services (LSS) joined forces to host a impactful workshop, made possible through the English Learner Roadmap Power in Collaboration across California (EPiCC) grant. The full-day professional learning session, titled Leading School Improvement with English Learners at the Heart, marked the second installment of a four-part series launched in October and set to continue through May.

Bringing together administrators and district leaders from across the region, the workshop centered on Principle 2 of California’s English Learner Roadmap policy: Intellectual Quality of Instruction and Meaningful Access. Participants delved into strategies for designing and implementing high-quality instructional practices and programs that ensure English learners receive meaningful access to academic content while fostering robust language development.

A key focus of the session was the alignment between the California English Learner Roadmap and the Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) English Learner Instrument. By framing discussions through an educational leadership lens, the workshop emphasized how state and federal requirements intersect, guiding educators in their efforts to provide equitable learning opportunities for English learners.

Throughout the day, attendees engaged in a variety of interactive and collaborative activities, including instructional design exercises and real-world case study analyses. These hands-on experiences allowed participants to explore best practices, address common challenges, and reflect on strategies to enhance educational outcomes for English learners. The integration of the FPM EL Instrument into discussions was particularly valued, as it offered a practical method for aligning instructional practices with state and federal expectations, while prioritizing a student-focused approach to language and literacy development.

Participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to engage in rich dialogue with peers, gain deeper insights into effective English learner support systems, and walk away with actionable strategies to implement in their respective districts.

The third session of this series is scheduled for March 18, where educators will shift their focus to systems and conditions necessary for the effective implementation of the English Learner Roadmap. This upcoming session promises to build upon the foundational knowledge established in previous workshops, further equipping leaders with the tools needed to create sustainable, high-impact programs for English learners.

For questions or additional support regarding California's English Learner Roadmap policy and its implementation, or Federal Program Monitoring, please contact: Samantha Tate (samantha.tate@tcoe.org), Ryann Derington (ryann.derington@tcoe.org), or Gabriela Guzman (gabriela.guzman@tcoe.org). More information about the EPiCC trainings is available at tcoe.org/ERS/ELD.
Around the County

College of the Sequoias holds ribbon-cutting ceremony for Technology & Trades Complex at Tulare campus

COS Ribbon Cutting

Last week, College of the Sequoias held a grand opening for its new Technology & Trades Complex, located on the college’s campus in Tulare.

The project, which took nearly two years to complete, features three buildings and a two-acre outdoor teaching and event area. The Technology & Trades Complex is the new home for the college’s automotive technology, commercial maintenance, construction technology, electrical training, HVAC environmental control technology, industrial automation, and mechanized agriculture programs.

Editor: Robert Herman, Communications Director
Contributors: Nayirah Dosu, Jennifer Fisher, Paula Terrill, Kate Stover, Samantha Tate, Ryann Derington, and Gabriela Guzman

To receive the News Gallery Week, sign up here, or contact Jennifer Fisher at jenniferf@tcoe.org or (559) 733-6172.