Army JROTC Leadership Symposium and Academic Bowl

Participate in this FREE Army JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl (JLAB) and your team may win a chance to attend the JLAB Championship in Washington, DC! 

 


IMPORTANT NOTICES TO ALL LEVEL II ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP TEAMS!

    • 1.      Level II competition begins on Wednesday, Jan. 13.  As during Level I, the website will be live 24 hours/day until the conclusion on Monday, Jan. 25.
    • 2.      Several colleges are hosting the competition and giving students an opportunity to tour the campus.  They include: East Carolina University, Eastern Kentucky University, Fordham, John Carroll University, Morehead State, North Georgia College, Oklahoma State University, Penn State, University of Akron, University of Central Arkansas, University of New Mexico and Xavier University.  If you have not been contacted by a school in your area, but would like to participate in this program, please contact Emily Donahue (edonahue@collegeoptions.net).
    • 3.      If your school is prone to closures due to winter weather, please do not wait until the final day (Mon. Jan. 25) of the competition to participate.  Extensions will be given on a very limited basis.
    • 4.      DO NOT “test” your password or use it more than one time!  The program tracks the use of each password and teams will be eliminated if the password is used more than once.  If you have any questions about your password (it is the same one you used in Level I), please contact Emily Donahue (edonahue@collegeoptions.net).
    • 5.      GOOD LUCK!!

    Dates of Competition
    Practice Quiz (optional)
    October 12 – 23, 2009
     Registration Begins
    November 2, 2009
     Level I – The Challenge
    November 9 – 18, 2009
     Level II – Zero Hour Threat
    January 13 - 25, 2010
    The Leadership Symposium
    And Academic Championship
    June 25 – 29, 2010

    NOTES:
    • All units will participate in Level I of the Leadership and Academic Bowl – two different tests administered during the same window of dates
    • All units will form two teams – a leadership team and an academic bowl team
    • Cadets may only participate on one team - either the Leadership team or the Academic Bowl team – no crossover between teams.
    • All teams will be competing against similar teams.  Teams will be categorized by demographics including socio-economic and geographic factors.
    • Teams with scores in the top 50% in Level I will participate in Level II.
    • If your school is prone to winter storms and school closings, please do NOT wait until the last day to participate.  Deadline extensions will be granted on a very limited basis.
    • There will be 24 Academic teams advancing to the Academic Championship and 48 Leadership teams advancing to the Leadership Symposium.
    • All academic teams advancing to Level III (The Championship) will be asked to participate in a peer-to-peer tutoring project.  Cadets will prepare a lesson and questions about a subject covered on the SAT/ACT.  The lesson will be filmed and distributed to all JROTC units to help other students prepare for college entrance exams.
    • Travel dates are June 25 and 29. 

    Competition Websites

    College Options Foundation – for further information and links to reference websites as well as the competition website, go to www.collegeoptionsfoundation.net

    COF Contests – to participate in the practice quiz, Level I and Level II, go to www.cofcontests.com


    How to Assemble an Academic Team

    Each JROTC unit will be allowed one team consisting of four cadets, including two juniors and two sophomores.  Freshmen may “play up” in place of a sophomore. Seniors may not be selected to participate as the Academic Bowl will be held after graduation.   Two alternates (one junior and one sophomore) may be named in case a team member must drop out before the end of the competition.  The alternates may participate in the online testing; however, if selected to participate in the final round, only four team members will attend.  Academic team members may NOT participate in the Leadership team.

    Instructors may assess each potential team member by grades, performance in the practice round, ability to work with a team and/or enthusiasm for the competition.  The instructor has the final decision on the members of the team and may use the OPTIONAL Practice Quiz (October 12 - 23, 2009) developed by the Foundation as a method of choosing team members.  The Practice Quiz will consist of 25 questions similar to those questions in Level I and II.  Each cadet may take the Practice Quiz at an internet-accessible computer either in the classroom, at home, in the library or other location.  The cadets should logon to www.cofcontests.com, answer the questions and print out their scores to turn into the instructor.  It is up to each instructor to review the scores and determine members of the team.

     

    How to Prepare the Academic Team

    One of the main goals of the JROTC Academic Bowl is to prepare students for state exit/graduation exams as well as college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT.  However, many JROTC instructors are understandably interested in measuring how well their cadets are learning the JROTC curriculum.  Therefore, we will have a mix of JROTC curriculum as well as English, Math and Science in each level of the competition.  We will also include a few questions about current events – focusing on national and international news, particularly international relations, politics, business and science.  All of the current events questions will be taken from major media available on television, the internet and in daily newspapers (see suggested resources below). 

    Level I – The Challenge will include 25% JROTC questions, 65% SAT/ACT-type questions and 10% current events questions.

    Level II – Zero Hour Threat will include 15% JROTC questions, 75% SAT/ACT-type questions and 10% current events questions.

    The JROTC curriculum questions will come from Army JROTC textbooks with primary focus on leadership preparation, wellness and fitness, group/team dynamics and communication skills.

    We encourage all cadets, whether they are on the academic team or not, to prepare for the ACT, SAT and ASVAB tests by reviewing English, Science and Math coursework.  There are several resources available, free-of-charge, to all students.

    Websites to review include:

    Test Prep
    Web Address
    Practice questions and free SAT/ACT test prep developed by the Foundation
    Free test prep websites
    Current Events
    (1 month prior to competition)
    Web Address
    FOX News

    www.foxnews.com/index.html
    CNN Student News

    www.cnn.com/studentnews/
    National Public Radio

    www.npr.org/

    Reuters

    www.reuters.com/
    USA Today Newspaper

    www.usatoday.com/

     

    How to Assemble an Leadership Team

    Each JROTC unit will be allowed one team consisting of four cadets and two alternates. The team should include cadets who are slated for primary leadership positions within their JROTC units for the coming year.  The team should include the future cadet commander and senior enlisted cadet.  Seniors should not be selected to participate as the Leadership Symposium will be held after graduation.  The alternates may participate in the online testing; however, if selected for the Symposium, only four team members will attend.  Leadership team members may NOT participate in the Academic Bowl team.

    The instructor has the final decision on the members of the team and may use the Practice Quiz (October 12 – 23, 2009) developed by the Foundation as a method of choosing team members.  The Practice Quiz will consist of 25 leadership questions similar to those questions in Level I and II.  Each cadet may take the Practice Quiz at an internet-accessible computer either in the classroom, at home, in the library or other location.  The cadets should logon to www.cofcontests.com, select Army, then select Leadership Quiz, and answer the questions and print out their scores to turn into the instructor.  It is up to each instructor to review the scores and determine members of the team. 

     

    How to Prepare the Leadership Team

    Leadership teams selected to participate in the Leadership Symposium should have a solid working knowledge of leadership principles and classroom applications prior to participation in the Symposium.  Four-member cadet teams will be chosen to participate in the Symposium on the basis of their knowledge of leadership tenets from George C. Marshall, their understanding of JROTC Leadership theory and their ability to translate those tenets and theories to scenario-based questions.  References for preparation include:

    1. The George C. Marshall Principles of Leadership:  Ref Guide: Soldier, Statesman, and Peacemaker: Leadership Lessons from George C. Marshall by Jack Uldrich. (Available via download here - Size: 8000KB)

    2. JROTC Leadership Theory: Ref Guide: Citizenship in Action and Leadership Theory and Applications (Note: Unit 2, Leadership Theory and Application only) by Pearson, Prentice Hall

    3. Winning Colors Theory and Application

    4. Thinking Maps

    5. Classroom Performance System (CPS): Basic use and abilities;  for additional assistance:  http://www.einstruction.com/

    How to Register the Leadership and Academic Teams

    Registration begins on Monday, November 2, 2009, for both the Leadership and Academic competitions.  To register go to http://www.cofcontests.com. Teams are not required to pre-register in order to compete in Level I – The Challenge; however, it will take approximately 15 minutes to answer a few questions before the actual test begins.  So, we suggest that each instructor register his or her team before the team is ready to participate in the first round.  Registration will be open until the last day of Level I competition.  Please be prepared to answer high school demographics questions - number of students in high school, number in Free Lunch Program, Athletic Category (ex. 3A, 8A), type of school (suburban, rural, private, public, etc.) The instructor may need to contact the guidance department or administration for answers. Instructors will also need to provide information on cadet names, gender, grade level and years in JROTC.

     

    Official Rules of the Competitions

     

    1. The designated contact should be a JROTC instructor with access to email.  Most correspondence with teams is through email; therefore, it is essential that instructors check their email and respond as soon as possible.  Foundation staff is also available by phone for questions or concerns. (1-888-JROTC-USA or 770.632.0399 or edonahue@collegeoptions.net

    1. For the Academic Bowl, each JROTC unit will be allowed one team consisting of four cadets, including two juniors and two sophomores.  Two alternates (one junior and one sophomore) may be named and may participate in the online portion; however, if selected, only four team members will advance to the final round. A freshman may “play up” in place of a sophomore.  Seniors are not allowed to participate on the team since the Academic Bowl will take place after graduation.

    1. For the Leadership Symposium selection, each JROTC unit will be allowed one team consisting of four cadets.  The team should include the future cadet commander and senior enlisted cadet.  Two alternates (one junior and one sophomore) may be named and may participate in the online portion; however, if selected, only four team members will advance to the Leadership Symposium. A freshman may “play up” in place of a sophomore.  Seniors are not allowed to participate on the team since the Leadership Symposium will take place after graduation.

    1. Cadets may only participate on one team - either the Leadership team or the Academic Bowl team. 

    1. The Challenge and Zero Hour Threat are internet-based competitions.  The team must have high speed (DSL, cable, t1, etc.) internet access (not via a dial-up connection). 

    1. The Challenge and Zero Hour Threat each require approximately one hour to complete.  Once a team has logged in, there is no ability to stop and start over.  The competition must be completed in one sitting.

    1. No one is allowed in the room during the competition except for the members of the team, the alternates and one instructor who will act as proctor for the test.

    1. No outside sources (dictionary, thesaurus, text book, newspaper, etc.) are allowed.  Calculators, pens/pencils and scratch paper are permitted.

    1. No communication about the competition with other JROTC teams or schools is allowed.  Teams are not permitted to discuss the questions or design of the competition with anyone outside of the team members and instructors.

    1. All scores will be sent to the Foundation’s server automatically.  If a team believes there has been an error in scoring, the team must contact the Foundation via phone or email with 12 hours of the completion of their participation (upon finishing the game).  A written explanation of the problem will be required and should be sent via email (edonahue@collegeoptions.net).

    1. If there is an electrical outage or other technical difficulty during the competition, the team must contact the Foundation via phone or email within 12 hours of the difficulty. A written explanation of the problem will be required and should be sent via email (edonahue@collegeoptions.net).

    1. The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl relies on the adherence by all teams to the JROTC Code of Honor/Core Values.  The Foundation expects all team members and instructors to abide by all rules.

    2. Finally, we believe the No. 1 rule in this competition is…. Have Fun!