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Royal High wins Ventura County Academic Decathlon; board spotlights Mountain View and Wood Ranch elementary schools
Summary
Royal High School’s academic decathlon team defeated long-time county champion Westlake and will advance to the state competition March 22 in Santa Clara. At the same meeting, Mountain View and Wood Ranch elementary principals described literacy and intervention gains and schoolwide climate programs.
Royal High School’s academic decathlon team beat perennial county leader Westlake High School and will represent Simi Valley Unified at the state competition in Santa Clara, the district told the board during Tuesday’s meeting. "The results speak for themselves," said Matt Guzelwepp, the district’s director of secondary education, who noted 53 individual awards, 16 gold medals and eight team awards for the winning program.
The board paused the business agenda to invite coach Heather Jenkins and members of the team to the dais. A student speaker, Bridal Chowdhury, thanked parents and coaches and said the team’s multi-year commitment paid off: "I've been wanting to beat Westlake and show it on their smug faces for so many years, so I'm so glad we're here." Trustees and attendees offered congratulations and posed for a group photo.
Trustees then heard school-spotlight presentations from Mountain View and Wood Ranch elementary schools. Mountain View Principal Jenny Goldman said the campus serves about 368 students, of whom she reported 61% are socioeconomically disadvantaged and roughly 12% are English learners. Goldman highlighted a PAWS behavior program (Pride, Attitude, Wise choices, Safety) and said the school has seen upward trends in reading, citing CAASPP and STAR data and noting that 44% of her English learners progressed at least one English-proficiency level on district measures.
"We're very excited," Goldman said of early-grade literacy work, and she credited professional development and data analysis with driving gains.
Wood Ranch Principal Jennifer Conmey described a collaborative school culture and shared district assessment figures for students with individualized education plans, reporting math gains of 46.2 points and ELA gains of 39.1 points on the measures she cited. Conmey said the school’s tiered intervention system includes daily upper-grade math groups, a full-time academic interventionist and push-in supports.
Both principals and coaches emphasized that intervention time shifts according to data: "Sometimes it's heavier math than reading just based on what essential skills are covering at that time," Jason Messenger, Wood Ranch’s professional learning coach, said. Trustees praised the schools’ focus on student engagement, attendance and a culture of belonging.
The board’s recognition and school-spotlight segment concluded with campus and community commendations and plans to support the team at upcoming competitions.
Next steps: Royal High will compete at the state academic decathlon in Santa Clara; the district will support travel logistics as needed.
