Scottsdale Unified buzzing over spelling bee winners | Neighbors

This is the time of year when school districts hold competitions to identify the best spellers in grade schools.

Scottsdale Unified goes one better than most: It not only holds the annual spelling bee that could launch a student into national competition, but also holds a Spanish spelling bee as well.

In the traditional bee, Camden Hernandez, a seventh grader at Desert Canyon Middle School, outlasted a field of 23 competitors to claim the 2026 SUSD Spelling Bee Championship.

He’ll now go on to a regional bee Feb. 9, hoping to eventually nail the state title and a ticket to the century-old Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.

In the Spanish Spelling Bee, top spelling honors were won after an 11-round head-to-head match by Adrian Cortes Ramon, a seventh grader from Tonalea.

I was excited, and I was scared,” Adrian said. “I thought, ‘I’m not going to win.’”

While the district credited Adrian’s  preparation and perseverance, the youngster credited his teacher, Ivan Chango.

The SUSD Spanish Spelling Bee uses an official word list from the National Spanish Spelling Bee study guide, which serves as the foundation for student preparation and the competition itself.

The event is coordinated through a collaborative effort led by SUSD’s world language coordinator, along with the district’s translation team and bilingual community specialists.

“Middle school Spanish teachers across the district support the event by hosting mini spelling bees within their classes,” the district said, adding that Tonalea and Mohave middle schools were well represented,  including students from the district’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program.

“The Spanish Spelling Bee continues to grow each year, reflecting SUSD’s commitment to world language education and providing students with meaningful opportunities to showcase their language skills,” the district said.

Meanwhile, the English spelling bee began with the word “language” and steadily narrowed to a final three before Camden correctly spelled  “minestra.”

He will compete in the regional bee with   five other SUSD students.

“I was feeling nervous, stressed out,” Camden said. “I thought I would maybe make the top five or ten, but I didn’t think I studied all of the words.”

He said he spent countless hours reviewing word lists, writing them down, spelling them aloud, and working through the materials provided by bee organizers.

 “It really helped a lot. It helped me visualize the words.”

Camden credited his love of reading and strong language skills for his success.

“I read a lot,” he said. “My ELA teachers say I have good writing techniques and good grammar.” His favorite book is “Jurassic Park.”

 “I’m pretty excited,” he said. “If I can win district, that boosted my confidence a lot. And regionals, I think I might be able to do it. It’s possible.”

The other five SUSD students in the regional bee are fifth grader Sullivan Mixon, Navajo Elementary School; seventh grader Oliver LeCocq, Mohave Middle School; seventh grader Jak Boudi, Ingleside Middle School; fifth grader Diya Rozenfeld, Kiva Elementary; and fifth grader Aydon Morales, Redfield Elementary.