Winners of the annual Spelling Bee contest held at Cumberland County Public Schools were recognized at the March 5, 2026, meeting of the Cumberland School Board. The Scripps National Spelling Bee, started in 1925, is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion. It is sponsored by the E. W. Scripps Company. Local competitions are co-sponsored by newspapers, such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or other high-profile community organizations and businesses. The spelling bee was established to “help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.” To participate in the contest, students must be under 16 years of age, be enrolled in 8th grade or below, and attend a school which has officially enrolled in the program.
Students who participated and won in grade-level competition in the Spelling Bee included the following:
1st Grade Aaliyah Mealy
Artemis Bishop (Runner-up)
2nd Grade Tyler Alexander
Clayton Dressler (Runner-up)
3rd Grade Roran Lawson
Mathias Manuel (Runner-up)
4th Grade Jessica Jones
Londynn Thompson (Runner-up)
5th Grade Jeremiah Williams
Cali Copeland (Runner-up)
6th Grade Raeanna Mealy
Anna Fleenor (Runner-up)
7th Grade Sofiah Paras
Nicole Tovar (Runner-up)
8th Grade Aurion Bolden
Addison Bowman (Runner-up)
Fourth grader Jessica Jones was the division winner of the Spelling Bee and third grader Roran Lawson was the runner-up.
Pictured:
Spelling Bee individual grade level winners and runners-up recognized at the School Board meeting included the following: Jeremiah Williams, Addison Bowman, Anna Fleenor, Raeanna Mealy, Nicole Tovar, Jessica Jones, Mathias Manuel, Aaliyah Mealy, Tyler Alexander, and Londynn Thompson. [NOT PICTURED: Artemis Bishop, Aurion Bolden, Cali Copeland, Clayton Dressler, and Sofiah Paras.]