SPORTS - Celebrity High Magazine

LAUSD Schools Move Forward
in Cyber Competition
Students from local high schools will be going to Washington DC for national competition.
Students from local high schools will
be going to Washington DC for national
competition.
Two Beyond the Bell student teams
have won invitations to attend the
nationwide championships of the
CyberPatriot program. The championships
will be held in Washington DC on April
1st and 2nd. Out of 180 teams that
entered the competition last year only
twelve have been invited to attend this
prestigious event. The schools are
Franklin High School out of Eagle
Rock, and Locke High School from
Watts.
CyberPatriot, an education
initiative produced by the Air
Force Association, is a one-of-akind
computer programming and systems
competition designed to introduce
students to cyber security. It provides
high school students hands-on learning
about cyber defense in a fun and
exciting environment.
“This is an incredible accomplishment
for our students.” says Alvaro Cortes,
LAUSD Assistant Superintendant and the
head of the Beyond the Bell Branch
which sponsors the program for the Los
Angeles Unified School District. There
are twelve teams left, two of which
come from our program. This shows what
a commitment those students have made.
“There’s an incredible amount of
enthusiasm for cyber security displayed
by these students as they compete, and
we are thrilled about their response,”
said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot
Commissioner. “These students are doing
something that is both exciting and
challenging, and we wish all the teams
the best of luck.”
Beyond the Bell (BTB) schools,
representing LAUSD, has had more teams
in each of the qualification rounds than
any school district in the nation.
That strong trend has produced two
of the last twelve teams in the
Finalist round, the ones that will
be wearing the Beyond the Bell
logo.
“One of our best CyberPatriot
team members grew up in a
disadvantaged family. He
never had strong support,”
said Carey Peck, Program Director
for the CyberPatriot Program.
“Until CyberPatriot came along
he never had regular access to a
computer, but now he does, and
he has been posting some of the
highest scores in the nation. He will be
a star, and CyberPatriot opened the door
for him.”
CyberPatriot will host its finals at
the Gaylord National Convention Center
in Washington, D.C. in April 2011, in
conjunction with AFA’s CyberFutures
Conference and Technology Exposition.
CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop
Grumman, with founding partners SAIC
and the CIAS at the University of
Texas-San Antonio. More information
can be found on CyberPatriot at
www.uscyberpatriot.org.
BTB