School/County Level Bees - In-Person & Virtual Bee Options

This year, school and county coordinators will continue to have access to the Online Testing Platform for situations where an in-person bee is not possible or advised. The goal with this tool is to give you maximum flexibility in the administration of your local spelling bee programs.

As teachers at your school deliver classroom instruction, manage remote learning or perform a combination of the two, they can offer a traditional oral spelling bee or administer an online spelling and/or word meaning test, which students can take on any device with a web browser, at school or from home. This platform, included with a school's enrollment, ensures schools can host competitions and name champions under any foreseeable circumstances.

The School Online Testing Platform will be available to educators at your enrolled schools through the Teacher Portal at spellingbee.com on September 29, 2023. County Coordinators that opt to use the Online Testing Platform for a County spelling bee will have the Online Testing Platform available starting November 1, 2023. 

Decisions regarding the choice between in-person or virtual school level bees are solely the decision of each registered school. Decisions regarding the choice between in-person or virtual county level bees are solely the decision of each County Coordinator. 

2024 Rules for Spelling Bees with Arkansas State Spelling Bee Amendment

(Click HERE  to view)

WORDS OF THE CHAMPIONS STUDY BOOKLET 

(SCRIPPS RECOMMENDED STUDY RESOURCE FOR SCHOOL SPELLING BEE CHAMPIONS)

Words of the Champions - Official study resource of the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Important Dates:

9/29/23 - Scripps early bird registration ends  - www.spellingbee.com

1/1/24 - School registration deadline - www.spellingbee.com

1/26/24 - Deadline to conduct school-level bees

2/29/24 - Deadline to conduct county spelling bees - Contact your County Coordinator for details about your county bee.  

3/1/24 - Deadline for County Coordinators to register (or to make changes to a previously submitted registration) their county winner for the State Bee.  This is also the deadline for any corrections or substitutions to be made to previously made registrations. NO changes to the roster will be made after this date. 

3/9/24 - Arkansas State Spelling Bee at The Vines Center (1 Four-H Way, Little Rock, AR 72223). Spellers must arrive between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m and the bee will begin at 10:00 a.m. Spellers arriving after 9:00 a.m. may not be able to participate.

5/26/24 - 6/1/24 - Scripps National Spelling Bee - Bee Week - National Harbor, Maryland

Questions specific to the Arkansas State Spelling Bee should be emailed to arspellingbee@gmail.com. 

Questions concerning the Scripps National Spelling Bee are accepted at https://spellingbee.com/contact.

All counties in Arkansas with multiple schools/groups registered with Scripps must work together to select a county coordinator to schedule and conduct a county spelling bee to determine the speller that will advance and compete at the Arkansas State Spelling Bee. All aspects of county bees are handled by the County Coordinator. As we are made aware of the County Coordinator for each county, their information will be added to the County Coordinator directory below. All rules and decisions made at the classroom, school, and county levels of competition are final and are not governed by the state sponsor. Counties with multiple schools and/or home school groups that do not conduct a county bee will not be eligible to advance a speller to the Arkansas State Spelling Bee. 

A speller competing in the Arkansas State Spelling Bee must be a registered student at a school in the county they are representing. An official letter from a speller’s public/private school may be requested to confirm a speller’s current/active registration. If the speller is a home school student, they must be officially registered with the state of Arkansas as a home school student in the county they are representing. A verification letter and/or copy of a home school students Notice of Intent to Home School (NOI) form from the Arkansas Department of Education may be requested to confirm a speller’s county of residence and active status as a home school student. It is understood that some home school students may not reside in the same county as the home school organization they are associated with. 

If you have questions specific to the Arkansas State Spelling Bee, please email arspellingbee@gmail.com.

Directory of participating schools

County Coordinator Directory

If you are a school or County Coordinator and have questions or need help preparing for your bee, please contact Scripps by visiting http://www.spellingbee.com/contact.  Scripps has staff dedicated to assisting school and county coordinators with all aspects of the bee process.

Spelling Bee Record keeping Sheet 

Record keeping Sheet - (Printable Sample & Blank Sheets) 

Media inquiries for the Arkansas State Spelling Bee should be directed to Rob Roedel, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, 501.570.2296 or rob.roedel@aecc.com.