Polk County Public Schools, Students
One team of six high school students and one coach is selected to represent each high school in the district at this tournament. The inaugural year for the PCHSAT was 1984.
The tournament is a highly academic competition for high school students. Each team consists of six members (four players and two alternates) and a coach. A maximum of six teams may compete in one competition round. This is not a quick response, trivial pursuit contest. Instead, it is a slower-paced tournament in which players are asked questions from the areas of mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, world languages (French and Spanish), technology, the fine arts and the humanities. The questions are written by Florida educators to mirror existing curricula.
Five practice rounds are held during September through January at various high school sites prior to the county championship tournament. The 2009 PCHSAT will be hosted by Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake, Florida.
The 2009 PCHSAT is scheduled for February 25 & 26. The semifinal rounds of competition will begin at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, February 25. The two teams in each of the three competition sites with the highest scores will return on Thursday, February 26 to compete in the County Championship round at 3:30 PM. The public is invited and encouraged to attend these after-school competitions. There is no charge for admission.
The tournament goal is to provide a prestigious academic competition in which the district's academically talented high school students are recognized. A major corporate sponsor is being sought which would allow the team members and coaches of the 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place teams to receive plaques, the six finalist schools to be awarded trophies, and the Polk County Champion to receive the Clara Hirschfield Trophy for Academic Excellence. The Polk Education Foundation will award a $500 scholarship to each of the six winning team members.
The Polk County All-Star Academic Team will be selected to represent the district at the 2009 Commissioner's Academic Challenge, Florida's state championship, scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 20-22 at Disney's Contemporary Convention Center. Each of these six students will receive a Janis James Colle Scholarship in the amount of $500.