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Occasional snow showers. High 37F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60%..
Variably cloudy with snow showers. Low 24F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Updated: January 13, 2023 @ 1:58 am
Greater Latrobe Senior High School is set to host the International Academic Competitions Pennsylvania Winter Regional Finals next month.
The Feb. 18 competition is spearheaded by Scott Fowler, a Latrobe native who now resides in Suwanee, Georgia, roughly 15 miles from Atlanta. Fowler teaches eighth grade Language Arts at River Trail Middle School in Fulton County.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Fowler works part time for the IAC, a company that runs events worldwide. The IAC was founded by David Madden, who financed the initiative with his “Jeopardy!” winnings. Madden held the record for most wins before Ken Jennings.
“In the past, we have had tournaments in Somerset and Windber, but this year I’m excited to say we will be in my hometown of Latrobe on Feb. 18,” Fowler said.
The tournament is open to students in grades kindergarten through eighth, and covers geography, science and history.
Students qualify by taking an online exam and then attend the regional competition where they compete with buzzers in their age group. Winners from there move on to the national competition in Arlington, Virginia.
The schedule for the Feb. 18 event is the National History Bee at 8 a.m., International Geography Bee at 10:15 a.m. and the National Science Bee at 1:30 p.m. Awards are distributed at the conclusion of each event.
“We have over 100,000 kids compete each year in the country,” Fowler said.
He started with the company in 2015 after winning a coach of the year award, and has been directing tournaments ever since.
Fowler coaches the River Trail Middle School and Northview High School academic teams which have collectively won nine state championships in Georgia.
Fowler is a 1984 graduate of Greater Latrobe Senior High School and a 1988 graduate of St. Vincent College. He currently serves as a regional coordinator for the IAC.
“Part of the job is contacting the schools who are willing to host the event,” Fowler said. “It serves as a fundraiser based on how many kids show up to the event. I reach out to hundreds of schools and it basically is a repeat business where once a school first hosts an event, they pretty much continue to do it.”
Several area students are already signed up for the February event, in addition to students from Boyce Middle School in Pittsburgh.
“We have several students from Pittsburgh and the surrounding area already signed up,” Fowler said. “In Windber (in 2019), we had about 25 students from Ohio show up and we’re more than happy to have them. For the schools who have active participation in quiz bowls, they basically just look around for the nearest competition, and that was the closest one for those students from Ohio at that time.
“We contact any academic competition groups that we know of, quiz bowls, groups like that, and in some cases we contact the individual schools as well. Host schools really try to push it because the more people they have the more fundraising they get.”
As a school teacher and regional coordinator, the rewards for Fowler are endless.
“For me personally, it’s a great competition for some of the kids who are overshadowed,” he said. “They get a chance to have that camaraderie because these kids usually aren’t in a sports environment, so it just gives them a highly competitive outlet where they can show off their talents.
“It’s also a way to improve their sociability and that’s the rewarding part for me. It’s nice to see them interacting and making new friends.”
On average, the IAC usually sees about 100 students at each competition.
“But it can range anywhere from 100 to 125, usually,” Fowler said. “For the competition in Baltimore next month we already have 250 students signed up, and we have the capacity to be able to handle about 300.”
Pennsylvania will host either three or four competitions this year throughout the state, Fowler said.
“Right now we have roughly 500 students who took the exam to qualify for a regional competition,” Fowler said. “It’s a goal to see Latrobe continue to host on an annual basis.”
For teachers and administration interested in giving the online regional qualifying exam to students:
• Go to http://orqe.iac-exams.com and go to “Sponsor Registration” to create a sponsor account. Please take note of what email address you use, as well as the case sensitivity of it.
• Send your students to the ORQE website (http://orqe.iac-exams.com) and have them click “Take an Exam” at the top of the page. They then will “create a new account” by scrolling down the page, filling in your email address as the teacher/sponsor.
• Students can take exams in history, geography and science. These are all 50-question, multiple choice exams with a 20-minute time limit. Once they click submit, results should be available in about 24 hours. Students are only compared to kids in their own division.
• Once your student has qualified, they can sign up for a regional final near you. They offer sites around the country and online with three question sets, so students can compete in up to three different regional finals, determined by season.
If you have any questions, or for more information, email [email protected], call 802-923-0400 or visit https://usa.iacompetitions.com/.
The National History Bee, International Geography Bee, and the National Science Bee are buzzer-based quiz competitions for individual students. Qualification for grades kindergarten through eighth begins with the online regional qualifying exam, which students must pass to be invited. With your invitation in hand, students can register for the regional finals in their area. The IAC offers up to three opportunities to attend regional finals on different question sets – ORQE qualification allows students to enter all three if they choose to do so. Students who perform well will be invited to participate in the national championships held yearly each June.
Students who score high enough on ORQEs will qualify for regional finals, which are mainly in-person, buzzer-based events. There will be regional finals all over the country (as well as online). These competitions take place between October and April. Three events are contested at regional finals: the National History Bee, National Science Bee, and the International Geography Bee, and each event is $45.
Students can qualify for the national championships in a given event “if they finish in the top half of students in attendance in their division, place in early summer, and next year will take place in Arlington, Virginia, from June 1-4,” according to information provided by IAC.
Joseph Bell can be reached at [email protected] or 724-537-3351 Ext. 28.
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