Based on performance at a regional competition, the Meskwaki Settlement School decathlon team has earned a spot at the Iowa Academic Decathlon. This is the first year the team will attend the state competition, which is to be held in Spirit Lake, March 4-5. Pictured are, front row, from left: Marquez Lasley Santos and Kade Brown. Second row, from left: Kredence Clark, Roxanne Pushetonequa, Elleh Driscoll and Tracie Kapayou. Third row, from left: Marybelle Armajo, Grace Tahahwah and Sara Ikebe. Fourth row, from left: Marley Whitefish, Danielle Seymour and LaShauna Davenport. - Photo provided

It takes a special kind of teenager to voluntarily sit for several hours, filling in bubbles on a series of multiple-choice exams.

But that’s just what several Meskwaki Settlement School high schoolers did last month.

And they performed well enough to earn a spot to compete in the Iowa Academic.

The Meskwaki team was one of 12 from smaller Iowa schools that qualified to attend the March event. (Twelve teams from large Iowa schools are to compete in a separate division).

It will be the first time the students are to compete at the state level.

Meskwaki Settlement School middle-high school principal Eric Butikofer has coached the team for three years since its inception.

He likes that decathlon rules require the participation of students from all academic backgrounds. A team must consist of three students with grade point averages 2.99 and below, three with GPAs 3.00 to 3.74 and three with GPAs 3.75 and above.

“You may have a kid that struggles academically, who is very talented,” Butikofer said. “There’s a spot for him on this team.”

Students are tested on a curriculum they can study beforehand. Prior knowledge isn’t a factor, he said.

“The more you study those, the more successful you are going to be in decathlon,” Butikofer said.

Students are tested in several academic areas, such as literature, music and social studies. The content is based on a theme. This year’s is “India.”

The regional competition was held in Grundy Center in January. Students sat for seven 30-minute tests. Team members later delivered a prepared and impromptu speech and were interviewed by judges.

“Personally, I think that the students get the most benefit from giving a speech, having to do the interview and doing the impromptu speech,” said Meskwaki Settlement School gifted and talented teacher and decathlon coach Mary Fitzgerald. “I think these are going to be skills that they need in life.”

Some speeches focused on Meskwaki culture.

One student described the history of Indian boarding schools, Fitzgerald said. From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Native American children were forcibly removed from their families and sent to the government and church-operated institutions.

People generally “don’t know much about the Native American culture, and it’s a fascinating, fascinating topic,” she said. “The judges are getting a chance to learn something new because they don’t really have any idea.”

Other students put a humorous twist on their speeches.

Freshman Danielle Seymour prepared several, but was unable to select one when it came time to orate before the judges.

“So I just talked,” she said, laughing.

Seymour’s penchant for impromptu speaking may explain why she is one of four Meskwaki students heading to the All-State large group speech competition this month.

Decathlon teammate Tracie Kapayou is joining Seymour at All-State.

At the regional decathlon, Kapayou’s speech was titled “10 Reasons Why You Should not be in a High School Relationship at Meskwaki Settlement School.”

One reason? Because you’re too busy to date when you have homework to complete, she said.

In fact, several of the decathlon students juggle academics and extracurricular activities, said coach Fitzgerald.

“They are coming early in the morning and they stay late at night,” she said.

Decathlon team member Grace Tahahwah, a junior, runs track and plays volleyball and basketball.

Preparing for the regional competition was stressful, she said: “On top of everything, we still had homework for school.”

Tahahwah said she didn’t study as hard as she could have, but intends to now that the stakes have been raised.

“We’ve seen how far we can make it barely studying, and so if we studied, we could probably make it way farther than we did,” she said.

To prepare for the decathlon, students poured over Powerpoint slides.

“They were interesting to look at,” observed Seymour.

Fitzgerald said the students’ participation is indicative of their dedication.

An audience is not permitted to watch them compete, according to contest rules.

“When they participate in athletics, people come and watch,” she noted. “When they have to sit at these tables, lined up in a gymnasium and do nothing but take tests – I just think it’s very impressive that they are willing to do that.

“They’re not doing this for any sort of publicity or glory.”