Polk County Public Schools, Students
The state academic tournament, formerly the Barnett Bank Academic Competition for Excellence and the Florida High School Academic Tournament, was first held in 1986 as an outgrowth of the success of the Central Florida High School Academic Tournament of 1985. Each school district is invited annually to send a team of six high school students to compete for the title of State Champion in each of the three divisions. These divisions are based on fall FTE enrollment numbers for the individual districts. In 2008 the divisions were defined as follows with the results listed:
Division I = K-12 FTE above 40,000
Division II = K-12 FTE above 10,000 to 40,000
Division III = K-12 FTE 10,000 and below
| Year: | Total Districts: | Division I Champion: | Division II Champion: | Division III Champion: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 33 | Seminole | Suwannee | (only 2 divisions) |
| 1987 | 44 | Orange | Highlands | (only 2 divisions) |
| 1988 | 53 | Duval | Clay | Suwannee |
| 1989 | 57 | Polk | Bay | Suwannee |
| 1990 | 58 | Pinellas | Highlands | Suwannee |
| 1991 | 59 | Dade | Indian River | Suwannee |
| 1992 | 54 | Pinellas | Collier | Suwannee |
| 1993 | 52 | Duval | St. Lucie | DeSoto |
| 1994 | 55 | Pinellas | Bay | Suwannee |
| 1995 | 53 | Broward | Clay | Suwannee |
| 1996 | 51 | Leon | Osceola | Suwannee |
| 1997 | 51 | Duval | Indian River | DeSoto |
| 1998 | 51 | Seminole | Hernando | Suwannee |
| 1999 | 52 | Brevard | Indian River | DeSoto |
| 2000 | 51 | Escambia | Leon | Taylor |
| 2001 | 51 | Palm Beach | Indian River | Suwannee |
| 2002 | 47 | Escambia | Leon | Suwannee |
| 2003 | 50 | Escambia | Leon | Suwannee |
| 2004 | 50 | Brevard | St. Lucie< | Hardee |
| 2005 | 49 | Manatee | Okaloosa | Gadsden |
| 2006 | 48 | Escambia | Santa Rosa | Hardee |
| 2007 | 46 | Polk | Leon | Hardee |
| 2008 | 47 | Pinellas | Martin | Hardee |
The method of team selection varies from district to district. Those districts with county tournaments send the winning team or an all-star team selected at the county competition.
Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, is the host site for the state tournament.
The state tournament is held in March or April of each year.
The tournament exists to provide an arena that challenges academically talented students and that rewards their performance. The subject areas of language arts, the fine arts, world languages, the humanities, mathematics, science, social studies and technology are represented in the tournament questions written by classroom teachers from several districts.
The tournament received grant funding from the Florida Legislature and DOE as follows: $75,000 in 1987; $150,000 in 1988 and 1989 (total for state and national); $138,925 (total) in 1990; $20,000 in 1995; $75,000 (total) in 1996, $109,174 (total) in 1997, $100,000 (total) in 1998 and 1999, and $125,000 (total) in 2000 and 2001. Awards of $100,000 for the state and national events were granted in 2002, 2003; 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. This award increases to $150,000 for the 2008 events. Additionally, the event has received sponsorships from various foundations and corporations, and support from several Florida School Districts. These sponsors over the 23-year history of the tournament include:
Sponsors/Hosts/Technical Support and No. of Years
Polk School District: 23
Pinellas School District: 21
Herff Jones, Inc.: 21
Brevard school district: 20
Walt Disney World's Community Relations Dept.: 17
Orange school district: 16
DeSoto school district: 16
Suwannee School District: 13
Leon School District: 13
Aramark ServiceMaster Management Services Company: 12
Pepsi Bottling Group: 12
Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc.: 11
Barnett Banks, Inc./ NationsBank: 10
Florida High School Athletic Association: 10
USF Center for Economic Education: 9
St. Lucie School District: 8
Polk Education Foundation: 8
Levy School District: 8
Florida Lottery: 7
Seminole School District; 6
State Farm: 5
Jessie Drey Endowment of the Central Florida English-Speaking Union: 5
Florida Association of District School Superintendents: 5
Jostens Learning Corporation: 5
Florida Power Corporation and Nassau School District: 3
Highlands and Martin school districts: 3
Seminole schools F.A.C.T.S.: 3
Verizon Communications: 3
Jimmie Sikes Foundation: 2
WESH-TV Broadcasting, Orlando: 2
The Education Foundation - Sarasota, Flagler, Monroe, Lake and Volusia school districts: 2
Hardee Education Foundation: 1
Charlotte, Hendry, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jackson, Marion, Okaloosa, Okeechobee,
Osceola, Volusia and Walton school districts: 1 each
GTE, Apple Computer, Inc., GTE Foundation and Coca-Cola Florida: 1 each
The legislative/DOE funding used to defray the costs of sending the district teams was eliminated beginning with the 1992 tournament but revived in 1995. Several Florida School Districts have contributed, and Aramark, the Florida Lottery, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Publix Super Markets Charities have made sizable donations to the tournament. Other private, public, and corporate sponsors continue to be sought.
Barnett Banks, Inc. increased its scholarship support to $63,000 annually beginning with the 1992 tournament. This substantial contribution allowed eighteen scholarships in the amounts of $1,800, $1,000 and $700 to be awarded respectively to the 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place team members from each of the three divisions. With this generous support, the tournament was titled the Barnett Bank Academic Competition for Excellence (ACE). The scholarships ($1,500, $700, and $500) were funded through a $49,000 grant from the Barnett Foundation, Inc. for the Commissioner's Academic Challenge (CAC) in 1997 and 1998. NationsBank sponsored scholarships in 1999 with $50,000 allowing eighteen scholarships in the amounts of $1,500, $750 and $500 to be awarded respectively to the 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place team members from each of the three divisions. GTE assumed the role of scholarship sponsor for 2000 and added a new dimension to the program by giving $10,500 to establish a $3,500 literary program in each of the three championship districts. GTE became Verizon Communications which continued the $63,000 sponsorship. Verizon and the Polk Education Foundation combined funding for the 2004 scholarships. In 2005 and 2007 “Friends of Academic Excellence” scholarships in the amount of $500 were awarded to the 1st-place team members in each division. In 2008, Publix Supermarkets Charities provided funds for $500 scholarships awarded to the 1st-place team members in each division. The search for a 2009 sponsor is ongoing.
The most unique aspect of the Florida high school academic tournament is the method by which the competition questions are secured. Teams of high school teachers gather at sites around the state to write the questions. This insures the validity of the questions as related to the high school curriculum used in classrooms.
TEAM FLORIDA is the six-member team named at the competitions to represent the state at the national tournament. TEAM FLORIDA won the national title in 1995 and 1999, finished in 2nd-place in 2001, 2003 and 2006, and 2008. Placed 3rd in 2007 and 4th in 2005. State Farm sponsored TEAM FLORIDA from 2002 through 2006. The search for a 2009 sponsor is ongoing.
The National Tournament of Academic Excellence, formerly the Panasonic Academic Challenge, is an outgrowth of the Florida tournament. Each year since its inaugural year of 1988, this tournament invites each state and U.S. territory to send a six-member team to compete for the title of National Champions. In addition, the Florida tournament has served as a model for several states in creating statewide academic tournaments.