Homeschoolers dominate Inland Northwest Spelling Bee, qualifying for national contest

At least two homeschool students will be participating at this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee – thanks to their hard work and support from a regional Northwest homeschooling group.

Eighth-grader Andrew Ford won the Feb. 8 Inland Northwest Spelling Bee by spelling “theosophy” correctly, the Coeur d’Alene / Post Falls Press reported.

Both Ford and runner-up Gabriel Aguirre entered the contest through the Inland Northwest Homeschool Spelling Association, which offers an entry-level qualifier each January to children in Idaho and Washington. 

“Being a good speller and competing in a local spelling bee can offer a wide range of benefits,” the association explains on its website, noting 20 advantages such as time management skills, enhanced communication and boosted confidence. 

Ford, who received $1,000 from the Idaho Character Foundation as well as other scholarship prizes for his success, already seems to have benefited from high self-confidence through his spelling prowess. 

“It feels good,” he told journalist Hailey Hill after spelling out the winning word and getting showered in confetti. 

The contest had an estimated five times as many contestants as in previous years, with the top three competitors surviving “12 rounds and about four hours of spelling words like ‘gallic’ and ‘encomium,’” according to Hill. 

‘A certain sense of astonishment’ over homeschoolers 

Homeschool students have featured prominently as finalists and winners in the Scripps contest since before the turn of the century. 

“In the early 1990’s only a few homeschoolers entered the contest; by the 1996 competition there were fourteen; and in 2006, the number increased to thirty-six,” notes an article from howtohomeschool.com. 

“In 2016, even though homeschool students made up just 2 percent of the school age population, they were more than 7.4 percent of the finalists.” 

The article also highlights how this disproportionately high representation had caused raised eyebrows among the bee’s administrators, quoting then-director Paige Kimble: “I think there’s a certain sense of astonishment – and frankly, I think there’s also a sense of respect and jealousy.” 

The first homeschooler to win the national title, Rebecca Sealfon of New York, spelled euonym correctly in 1997. 

Another homeschooler, George Thampy, won in 2000, followed by Sean Conley in 2001. 

The fourth homeschooler to win the national bee, Evan O’Dorney, claimed the prize by spelling serrefine correctly in 2007. 

In 2023, homeschooler Zaila Avant-garde from Louisiana became the first African-American contestant to win the title, though she considered herself more of a sportsgirl than a speller. 

“Spelling is just a side thing I do,” the then-14-year-old told Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine, which named her 2021 SportsKid of the year. “My main thing is basketball.”