Pima County Spelling Bee

Spelling Bees are a great American tradition. Bees help students improve oral and written literacy skills and build self-confidence. Each year, over 200,000 Arizona students participate in Bees that begin in classrooms, take over schools, advance to districts, and then on to regional and county qualifiers.

Spelling Bee Coordinator Information

1. Enroll your school with Scripps National Spelling Bee:

To be eligible to compete in the AEF™ Arizona State Spelling Bee and all County and Regional Bees, a student must attend a school that has enrolled with Scripps National Spelling Bee at
www.spellingbee.com.  Registration opened on August 22, 2022, and must be completed by December 30, 2022. The registration fee is $175.  The website lists the materials you will receive upon enrolling. These materials are very important for students as they prepare for the school spelling bee, so it is not advisable to wait until December 30 to enroll.
 

2. Get your School Resources:
Enrolled schools may receive spelling bee resources directly from Scripps; a complete list is available on www.spellingbee.com.  Scripps will make the District Pronouncer Guide available once your school is registered. This Pronouncer Guide is not to be shared with anyone other than the officials connected with your District Bee.

  • I highly recommend that you subscribe to The Teacher’s Beehive at https://us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=af54d277651e6822d87b375a3&id=2bfbfeb882 to receive a biweekly newsletter crafted especially for teachers by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Along with webinars, and tips for running a spelling bee program, the newsletter also contains educational content that is valuable and easy to use in the classroom, including regular features from experts like official Bee pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly.
  • Be sure to visit the Arizona Educational Foundation website at https://www.azedfoundation.org/spelling-bee  for more information about the Arizona Spelling Bee and other helpful information.

Important Dates:

1. School Spelling Bee deadline is January 6, 2023.
2. District Spelling Bee deadline is January 30, 2023.

  • The formula for determining the number of students from districts in Pima County that will advance to the County Bee is as follows: Each participating school will send one winner to compete in the District/LEA/CMO or EMO bee. The number of participants who will advance to the county or regional bee will be determined using the following formula: multiply the number of schools  participating in the District/LEA/CMO or EMO bee by 25%. For example, if 24 schools are competing in your district bee, the top 6 spellers will advance to the county/regional bee.

3. The deadline to register the student(s) who will be representing your school/district in the Pima County Spelling Bee is February 3, 2023. The link for this registration will be made available via email at the end of January. Pima County Spelling Bee Venue and Times:

  • Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 10:00 am
    CDO High School
    25 W. Calle Concordia
    SPELLER CHECK-IN: begins at 9:30 am

The 2022 Rules for Local Spelling Bees can be found at  https://spellingbee.com/sites/default/files/inlinefiles/2022_Rules_for_Local_Spelling_Bees.pdf

Thank you again for serving as coordinator of the Spelling Bee. If you will not be serving as coordinator this year, please let me know who will be serving along with their contact information, and if you would, please pass this information on to them.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at marianne.landrith@pima.gov or 520-724-8995.

Respectfully,
Marianne Landrith
Pima County Spelling Bee Coordinator