On March 1, Assistant Principal of Safety, Facilities and Athletics Tyler Lee and math teacher Dr. Kevin Lan officially announced the return of an Academic Decathlon Team to CHS for the 2023-24 school year, when it will compete for the first time since 2020.

Lee coached the team while he was a teacher at CHS, winning the Ventura County championships every year from 2016-20, when Lee departed.   

“I left Calabasas in June 2020, and when I left, no teacher took [coaching] over,” said Lee. “I was gone for two years, and [the Academic Decathlon] hasn’t been here for two years.” 

When Lee returned to CHS as an administrator, one of his main goals was to bring back the Academic Decathlon team. Joining him on the coaching staff is Dr. Kevin Lan. Lan has previous experience coaching different high-level academic competitions, all math-based, and hopes to use this past experience to push the CHS team, especially in math. 

“[One of the math topics] in the Decathlon is almost exclusively for math competitions, which is not regularly covered in the school curriculum,” said Lan. “I have a lot of experience in that area to get students up to speed.” 

Lee and Lan have high expectations for the upcoming 2023-24 season, hoping to pick up right where the team left off and bring back the winning culture the Academic Decathlon team previously had. 

“Together, we’re aiming for at least a championship in the county, and go on to compete at the state level,” said Lan. “We are determined to bring the team to Sacramento for the final competition.” 

Lee is eager to get back to the Academic Decathlon competition and craft a new team of students. 

“I’m pumped,” said Lee. “This was such a great experience for me. I’m excited to bring back this opportunity for the next generation of students and keep the program going here.” 

According to the California Academic Decathlon Eligibility Guidelines, an Academic Decathlon team is composed of up to nine members, with three members making up each sublevel: three students in the Honor level (3.75-4.00 GPA), three students in the Scholastic level (3.00-3.749 GPA) and three students in the Varsity Level (0-2.99 GPA). Students compete against other teams based on knowledge of ten different subjects. 

Tryouts for the team will take place during the last week of March. The coaches hope to make their decisions and release a roster for the next school year by the end of the month.