On Friday, February 6, ten high schools from Oregon and Washington competed in Echo School District’s High School Knowledge Bowl.
The first Knowledge Bowl hosted in Echo was originally adopted by longtime educator John Cox, from the state of Washington. 2026 marks John’s 25th year as an educator; he has been with the Echo School District since 2001.
“Growing up in Washington, I was exposed to the Knowledge Bowl in high school. We had competitions on weeknight evenings. When I came to Echo as an educator, I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the concept here by hosting one Knowledge Bowl a year for us and other schools in the area.”
Knowledge Bowls soon became a bright spot for surrounding schools. Hermiston High School, Riverside High School, Umatilla High School, and others brought teams to attend regularly. Assistance slowly dwindled following the many changes that COVID-19 brought to the landscape of public education.
Fortunately, things have been ramping back up as of late; this year marks Echo’s most attended Knowledge Bowl, featuring more than 100 students participating on 24 distinct teams.
Participating schools include:
Burbank/Columbia 1 Team (Washington)
Connell High School 5 Teams (Washington)
Clarkston High School 1 Team (Washington)
DeSales High School 5 Teams (Washington)
Echo School 3 Teams (Oregon)
Hermiston High School 3 Teams (Oregon)
Kamiakin High School 2 Teams (Washington)
Kennewick High School 1 Team (Washington)
Riverside Jr/Sr High School 1 Team (Oregon)
Walla Walla High School 2 Teams (Washington)
These teams gathered to participate in a lively competition consisting of four rounds.
The first round is a written test. Student participants are allotted 35 minutes to complete the test. The test is scored immediately after. Using their scores, teams are divided into rooms to compete in the subsequent oral rounds. 24 teams took the test and were divided into 8 separate rooms. Each room held 3 separate teams.
In the oral rounds, student teams use buzzers to indicate that they’d like to attempt to answer the question. If their answers are correct, they are awarded points. If not, the other two teams in the room have the opportunity to answer and gain those points.
High school students in the Echo School District prepare for the Knowledge Bowl during their lunch time two days a week, with an option to join middle school students during their lunch time preparation time as well.
Ryan Morris is a Knowledge Bowl veteran and Echo School District alumnus. Now, he serves as a volunteer scorer for the Knowledge Bowl.
“What keeps me coming back is nostalgia. I also do plenty of reading, and history is one of my favorite subjects. It’s fun to see if you know the answers to some of the questions. This experience is great for students because they get to learn about a lot of different subjects, whether they are proficient in them or not.”
Morris had this to say about Cox taking the initiative to bring this to the school:
“It’s an amazing opportunity for students. He has a lot of knowledge and is really great at what he does.”
This event marks Echo’s 5th competition this year, with others held by Walla Walla HS and DeSales, Hermiston, Richland and Connell, Columbia-Burbank and Echo. There will be a regional playoff in Pasco during the first week of March to qualify for the Washington State Knowledge Bowl Competition in Wenatchee, which will be held on Saturday, March 21.
Schools are divided into their classifications according to school size in Washington. Echo will play against DeSales and the winner will advance to state. Some of the schools mentioned will have to travel to Yakima or Spokane to compete against other schools their size.
A Junior High Knowledge Bowl will be held at Echo School on Friday, March 13th. Contact John Cox at Echo School District for more information.