MENDOTA — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today congratulated four students from Mendota (Fresno County) for winning the junior high school division of the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) national competition last month in College Park, Maryland. O'Connell noted their accomplishments at a ceremony and dinner held in their honor at Mendota High School.

"Adelmo Alvarado, Edgar Juarez, Francisco Torres, and Angel Hernandez are amazing kids who succeeded despite the odds," said O'Connell. "Their victory at the MESA competition shows if you work hard enough and believe in yourself, you will succeed. Congratulations to them, their parents, their adviser David Sackrison, and the MESA program for their inspirational work."

"The Mendota students earned the right to represent California in the competition by besting numerous other teams in rigorous preliminary, regional, and statewide contests," said MESA's Executive Director Oscar Porter. "They had worked on their project since November, putting in more than 200 hours of personal time to test and refine their trebuchet."

The MESA competition called for students to build a trebuchet, a siege engine similar to a catapult. The four boys, aged 13 to 15, competed against teams from across the country and won first place in the junior high division.

At McCabe Junior High, 99.7 percent of the students are socioeconomically disadvantaged and are enrolled in the free and reduced-priced meals program. Seventy-two percent of the student population is English learners. The school is also ranked among the bottom 20 percent in the Academic Performance Index — the state's school accountability model.

The MESA program helps historically low-performing student subgroups prepare for a four-year college or university and then graduate with a degree in areas such as engineering, the sciences, computer science, and mathematics. The program is designed to help students develop academic and leadership skills, improve their academic achievement, and gain confidence in their ability to compete professionally. MESA is administered by the University of California. The intersegmental program is funded by the state legislature, corporate contributions, and grants. MESA education partners include the University of California, the California State University, California Community Colleges, independent colleges and universities, the California Department of Education, community-based education centers, school districts, and individual schools.

"The MESA program is a shining example of how schools, from primary to postsecondary, can form partnerships to work toward closing the achievement gap and prepare students for more challenging jobs of the future so they can complete on a global basis," added O'Connell.

For more information on MESA, please visit California MESA [http://www.ucop.edu/mesa/home.html] (Outside Source).

For a picture of O'Connell and the students, please visit Year 2008 - Multimedia.