10 HISD students to compete in nation’s largest regional spelling bee

Ten HISD students are among 53 spellers who will compete in the nation’s largest regional spelling bee Saturday at Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan (2610 Elgin St., 77004).

The top two spellers will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 27-June 1.

Competitors representing grades second through eighth will come from 1,060 schools in 34 Texas counties to compete in the bee, which is hosted by Houston Public Media. Live updates on the spelling bee will be available on the Houston Public Media Facebook page and on Twitter at @HoustonPubMedia. Final rounds and highlights of the spelling bee will be broadcast on TV 8 and streamed on houstonpublicmedia.org/spellingbee at 3:30 p.m. the following Saturday, April 14.

The 10 HISD spellers competing in the bee are:

  • Oluwaseun Agbi, grade 4, Energized For Excellence Academy
  • Naomi Canny, grade 8, Baylor College of Medicine Academy at James D. Ryan Middle
  • Jayden Chen, grade 4, West University Elementary School
  • Alanna Ferreon, grade 8, Pershing Middle School
  • Shaun Israni, grade 5, River Oaks Elementary School
  • Rebecca Luo, grade 5, Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet
  • Brian Oliveira, grade 6, T. H. Rogers
  • Anna Parker, grade 5, Poe Elementary School
  • Oscar Portillo, grade 7, West Briar Middle School
  • Amelie Rozowski, grade 5, Condit Elementary School