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.

2026 Pima County Spelling Bee

Saturday, February 14, 2026 - 10:00 am
Canyon Del Oro High School
25 West Calle Concordia
Oro Valley, AZ 85704

SPELLER CHECK-IN: begins at 9:30 am

FREE PARKING: please park in the lot west and north of the auditorium.  The auditorium is at the west end of the campus.

GUESTS: The Pima County Spelling Bee is open to the public and there is no restriction on the number of guests you may bring.

Spelling Bee Coordinators:

Thank you for serving as the Spelling Bee Coordinator for your school and/or district. Your role as Spelling Bee Coordinator is vital in providing a quality spelling bee experience for students, and in identifying the two finalists from Pima County who will eventually compete in the Arizona State Spelling Bee. The steps for this journey are outlined below.

Your role as Spelling Bee Coordinator is vital in providing a quality spelling bee experience for students, and in identifying the two finalists from Pima County who will eventually compete in the Arizona State Spelling Bee. The steps for this journey are outlined below.

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 must be completed by December 31. The registration fee is $199 per school. If you know other schools in your district that did not hold a school bee last year, please encourage them to participate this year.  I can help get them on board if you email the name of the school to me.  Thank you.

 
2. Get your Spelling Bee Resources:
Once your school is registered with Scripps, you will be able to access the resources directly from Scripps.  The website lists the materials you, the spelling bee coordinator, will receive upon enrolling. These materials are very important for teachers, students, and families as they prepare for the school, district, county, and state spelling bees. Additional resources that are very helpful are:

  • The Beehive: Subscribe to receive a biweekly newsletter designed especially for teachers by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It includes webinars, tips for running a spelling bee program, educational content to use in the classroom, and 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.
  • The 2026 Rules for Local Spelling Bees can be found at Spelling Bee Rules.
  • Please send pictures of your school and district bee in action, photos of the winners, and/or a group picture of all contestants.  We’d like to share them at the Pima County Bee and celebrate all the outstanding spellers! Please send photos to: Matt Stamp at [email protected] or 520-260-3305.

3.  Mark these important Spelling Bee Dates in your calendar

  • School Spelling Bee deadline is January 9, 2026.
  • District Spelling Bee deadline is January 30, 2026. 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/Local Education Agency (LEA)/Charter Management Organization (CMO) or Education Management Organization (EMO) bee. The number of participants from the district that will advance to the county or regional bee is determined by multiplying 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. Note:  If charter, private, or home schools are part of an organization or cohort within Pima County, they will send the winner(s) to the county bee based on the formula above. 
  • The deadline to register the student(s) who will be representing your school/district in the Pima County Spelling Bee is February 2, 2026. The link for this registration will be made available via email in January.
  • Pima County Spelling Bee is Saturday, February 14, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at C.D.O. High School
  • Arizona State Spelling Bee is Saturday, March 21, 2026, at the Madison Center for the Arts in Phoenix, Arizona.  This year, Word Meaning will begin in Round Three in both the prelims and finals. 

4.  Begin planning your school spelling bee.

Thank you again for serving as coordinator of the Spelling Bee. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at [email protected] or 520-724-8995.

Respectfully,

Marianne Landrith
Pima County Spelling Bee Coordinator