Omkar Bharath, 2019 Arizona Spelling Bee Champion
6th grader at Desert Canyon Middle School, Scottsdale
Arizona
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.
The State Spelling Bee is the penultimate showdown with 27 students from across the state competing to determine who will represent Arizona in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
The AEF Arizona Spelling Bee 2021 will be held on March 20th, 2021.
eligibility enroll your school the speller's path faqs timeline past winners
county and regional bee coordinators
enrollment now open.
Registration for the 2021 spelling bee is now open! Schools should register directly with Scripps now through October 16th, 2020 to receive early-bird registration discounts.
Registration closes December 18th, 2020.
REGISTER HERE - www.spellingbee.com
Important Note: You are registering directly with Scripps. The Arizona Educational Foundation does not take payment for your registration fees. All registration fees and eligibility policies are set by Scripps. Scripps accepts checks or credit cards only, they do not accept purchase orders.
2021 deadlines.
School Registration Deadline: December 18th, 2020
Deadline to Finish School Spelling Bee: January 8th, 2021
Deadline to Finish District Spelling Bee: February 1st, 2021
Deadline to Complete County/Regional Spelling Bee: February 19th, 2021
path to the Arizona Spelling Bee.
eligibility.
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To participate in the 2020 Arizona Spelling Bee, a student must attend a school in Arizona that is enrolled with the Scripps National Spelling Bee on or before the deadline December 18th, 2020.
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There is no minimum grade or age level at the state or national finals; however, spelling bee officials at the classroom, school or district level may, at their discretion, set a minimum grade and/or age limit.
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A student is eligible to compete if he or she has not passed beyond the eighth grade on or before February 1, 2021 and has not reached his or her 15th birthday before August 31, 2020.
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To qualify for the AEF™ Arizona Spelling Bee, a speller must win preliminary bees at the classroom, school, district*, and county/regional levels. A district run-off is needed in the following instances:
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Public Schools: If there are multiple schools from the same district enrolled, you must hold a district wide run-off to select the student(s) that will advance to the county/regional bee.
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Charter Schools: If there are multiple charter schools operating under the same LEA, CMO, EMO, (such as BASIS, Great Hearts, etc.), you must hold a run-off to select the student(s) that will advance to the county/regional bee. Even if each school in a charter network is considered an independent LEA, if they are part of a larger network, a run-off is needed.
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Private Schools: If there are multiple private schools operating under the umbrella of an organization (such as a Diocese or private management organization), you must hold a run-off to select the student(s) that will advance to the county/regional bee.
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Home Schools: If there are multiple home schools operating under the umbrella of an organization or collective, you must hold a run-off to select the student(s) that will advance to the county/regional bee.
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Independent Schools: If the enrolled school (charter, private, home, virtual) is entirely independent (not associated with any other schools or management organization) the winning speller will advance to the county/regional bee.
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Not sure if your school needs a district bee? Contact Matthew Feller at matthew@azedfoundation.org.
timeline.
enroll your school.
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Step #1: Enroll your school on the Scripps National Spelling Bee website. To enroll, click here. In order to compete, Spellers must attend a school enrolled with Scripps. The deadline to register wish Scripps is December 18, 2020.
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Step #2: Schools pay enrollment fees directly to Scripps. Important note: The Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) does not accept payment on Scripps' behalf. Questions regarding payment should be sent directly to Scripps. Scripps only accepts checks or credit cards. They do not accept purchase orders.
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Step #3: Review the materials provide by Scripps such as:
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Official study lists for students, organized by grade level
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Study materials for each school spelling champion
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Official pronouncer guides for classroom and school spelling bees
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Step #4: Schedule and hold your school bee before Arizona's deadline of January 8th, 2021.
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Step #5: Send your school champion's information your district bee coordinator (if applicable).
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If you are a district bee coordinator and need a copy of the District Pronouncer Guide, contact Matthew Feller at matthew@azedfoundation.org.
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Step #6: District bee coordinators will send the name(s) and student information to the County/Regional Bee Coordinator.
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Maricopa regions are determined by the boundaries of the public school districts. If you are a private, charter, or home school, the region is determined by the physical address of your school within those boundaries. This resource can be used to help you determine your region.
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To determine the numbers of students that will advance from your district run-off, divide the number of schools participating by 4.
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If you are sending more than one speller, but the students' schools are in different regions, the number of spellers advancing does not change, but each speller will advance to the region in which their school resides.
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Unsure? Contact Matthew Feller at matthew@azedfoundation.org.
faq.
Our school has registered with Scripps. Now what?
It's time to start distributing Bee resources from your online portal to your students and planning your classroom and school spelling bees.
Where can I find study resources for my students?
My student does not attend a public school. Do they still compete in a district bee?
Maricopa county
does not qualify for the district bee exemption, therefor all schools within Maricopa county that are a part of a network of schools (with 2 or more schools competing) will hold a district bee.
When and where do district spelling bees take place?
District spelling bees are managed by individual district coordinators. These coordinators are often appointed by administration. The location, date, and time of your district bee will be determined by the assigned coordinator. We advise reaching out to your school administration for support if you are unaware who your district coordinator is.
When and where do county and regional bees take place?
AEF has a list of county and regional bee coordinators on our website. Maricopa County is divided into six regions based on school district. Coordinators can better provide details on the time and place of the County or Regional Bee. Please reference our county/regional bee page to find contact information for your county/regional coordinator.
staff contact.
For questions about the Spelling Bee, contact Matthew Feller at matthew@azedfoundation.org.