I led classroom spelling for 20 years. Here’s what needs to change.

On July 8, Zaila Avant-garde became the first African-American college student to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and like many other black women who saw themselves reflected in Zaila’s historic victory, I posted the news on social media, encouraged other people’s posts, and felt the pride of my community.

But then it turned out that the first national bee was in 1925. This historic victory – after only one other black student, Jamaica-born Jody-Anne Maxwell, in 1998 – underscored how narrow the road is to this competition and how inequitable access is. is for many minorities, especially those without supporting infrastructure.

I taught grammar in college at a small private K-8 school in Miami. For 20 years, I ran the classroom spelling contest for my school. It was a requirement.

By the time the students reached me in eighth grade, they had five spelling bees under their belt. Most of the students in my class stumbled upon words like “colonel” or forgot that “accommodate” had two c’s, two m’s and two o’s.

But most have not been invested in winning the bee. On the one hand, English for many of my students was taught at secondary level in Spanish, so spelling was less important than being able to speak well in both languages. Spelling was also not as high on the priority list as getting into the right high school.

Most of these students were Latinos and came from wealthy second or third generation immigrant families. Their parents paid thousands of dollars to prepare them for the high school entrance exams and, if there was interest, they could afford the necessary coaching and study groups so that their children could compete in the- beyond the classroom.

A former student from our school actually traveled to DC in 2009 to participate in the National Bee Contest. And, although she didn’t win, her odds seemed greater than for girls who looked like Zaila and attended public schools in predominantly black neighborhoods.

Before this year, the idea of ​​a black girl winning a spelling contest was considered a work of fiction. In the 2006 film “Akeelah and the bee” the main character, Akeelah, played by actress and singer Keke Palmer, is a girl who attends an elementary school in South Los Angeles. After overcoming many obstacles and with the help of her community, Akeelah travels to Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Following the news of the Vanguard victory, Palmer posted on his Instagram, “THE REAL LIFE AKEELAH YOU GUYS !! That of real life. I am so happy in my heart.

When I learned that Zaila, a home schooled student and Guinness world record holder for the basketball dribble, was the winner of this year, this brought back memories of the film. In one scene, Akeelah and the students in her study group practice dribbling and shooting a basketball while practicing spelling difficult words.

For many years, I showed this movie to my students before the spelling so they could imagine what it would be like to have a talent and a passion for something without the resources and support to pursue it.

The film illustrates well that competing for a regional or national spelling contest requires much more than good memory and commitment. It takes a lot of time, money and support from your school, your parents and your community. Learning Latin, acquiring a spelling teacher, traveling, and joining private study groups are luxuries many cannot afford.

Beyond that, many public schools do not offer their students the opportunity to compete. Schools pull out for a variety of reasons: competing priorities, lack of funds, lack of interest or lack of time.

Schools that can afford the $ 250 to $ 300 to enroll should still prioritize the bee and make time in the school calendar. They need volunteer teachers who are willing to administer the bee and steer away from the required curriculum and testing schedules.

Iliana Artime, former vice-principal of South Miami Dade Middle School, said her school had never participated because teachers were overwhelmed with the schedule of tests they already had. “My principal would have gladly paid the $ 300 registration fee, but we couldn’t find a teacher to sponsor him. The culture of testing definitely has an impact on preparation for the spelling contest.

Unlike Akeelah’s character, Zaila was homeschooled and her parents were able to prioritize bee prep. Home schooling is a decision made by a growing number of black parents to ensure that their children are able to reach their full potential.

And yet, not all parents can afford to pay the cost of the bee. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the median income of black households is still lower than that of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white households. In 2019, the median The income of black households ranged from $ 42,447 to $ 46,073. In 2020, the Miami-Dade fifth-grade spelling contest winner attended Fisher Island Day School, which has a tuition fee of $ 26,000 per year, more than half of the average income of a black household.

Parents of students who qualify to go to the National Bee must pay $ 750 once their child is accepted as a candidate. This is after paying the fees associated with regional and national competitions, and it does not include the cost of additional lessons or the cost of travel and food once in the nation’s capital. So most children need godparents.

Knowing this, the South Asian community has set up an infrastructure so that their students are not only encouraged to participate in the bee but also trained for it. A child of South Asian descent has won the bee since 2008. The streak is in part due to a decided change in the community to create foundations that would fund and support young spellings.

One of these organizations is North South Foundation, which organizes its own spelling and brain bee contests throughout the year. He proved that to level the playing field, building an infrastructure is essential.

Zaila Avant-garde won $ 50,000 thanks to her victory and three offers of university scholarships. So I know she’s already inspired other students to hone their spelling skills and imagine themselves on stage, but they’ll need some support.

Zaila’s victory is always a victory for many girls who are like her because representation matters. But without that infrastructure, a black spelling champion who attends a struggling public school in a predominantly black neighborhood will likely remain a work of fiction.

I would like to see businesses and sports organizations sponsor schools. I would love to see organizations set up in the black community for girls who look like Zaila and live like Akeelah’s character. And it would be nice to see a student from Liberty City, an underprivileged Miami community, receive the same preparation as a student who lives on wealthy Fisher Island. The avant-garde should not be the exception.

My greatest hope is that Zaila’s victory not only inspires future spellings, but also broadens our imaginations into what is possible when we invest in ensuring that all students have equitable access and support to achieve their dreams.

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