West Hartford, hometown to Noah Webster, Father of the American Dictionary, will be the site of the Connecticut Spelling Bee.

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Who will have the last word? The Connecticut Spelling Bee will return to West Hartford on Sunday, March 5, 2023, for the chance to represent the state at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The 6th  annual Connecticut Spelling Bee is presented by the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society. This year’s state-wide spelling bee boasts the largest number of enrolled students in grades 4-8 since its inaugural bee. The competition begins at 1 p.m. on March 5 at the Hoffman Auditorium at the University of Saint Joseph, located at 1678 Asylum Avenue in West Hartford.

Students who have made it to The Connecticut Spelling Bee have already won their school- or town-wide spelling bees. In some cases, that means being the top speller out of as many as 900 students. A total of 13,554 Connecticut students in grades 4-8 participated in the spelling bee program this year. Out of that number, 52 are eligible to move on to The Connecticut Spelling Bee.

The winner of The Connecticut Spelling Bee will represent the state at the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 28, 2023, through June 2, 2023, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Port Washington, Maryland. Last year’s Connecticut winner, eighth grader Julia Settevendemie from Somers’ Mabelle B. Avery Middle School, tied for 49th place in the national contest. Scripps estimates that around 11 million students participate in the spelling program each year. In addition to traveling to Scripps National Spelling Bee, the top Connecticut speller will receive a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Saint Joseph.

In 2023, schools from all eight of Connecticut’s counties participated in the spelling bee program. Each school that enrolled for the 2022 spelling bee program has returned for the 2023 season. Returning or newly participating schools include: Assumption School (Ansonia); Bungay School (Seymour); Center School (East Hampton); Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy (North Windham); Cloonan School (Stamford); Covenant Preparatory School (Hartford); CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering 6-12 (Windsor); East Hartford Middle School (East Hartford); Grace Academy (Hartford); Helen Keller Middle School (Easton); Mary R. Fisher Elementary School (North Grosvenor); Michael F. Wallace Middle School (Waterbury); Middlesex Middle School (Darien); Milner Middle School (Hartford); Northeastern Adventist Academy – Hartford Campus (Hartford); Old Greenwich School (Old Greenwich); Our Lady of Mercy Preparatory Academy (Madison); Pleasant Valley School (South Windsor); Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy (Orange); Stafford Middle School (Stafford Springs); Strawberry Hill International School (Stamford); Thompson Middle School (North Grosvenor); Weston Intermediate School (Weston).

“As the birthplace of the Father of American English, we are proud to offer The Connecticut Spelling Bee to students from across the state,” said Amy Fernand Boulton, interim executive director of the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society. “We are also proud of the dedication and hard work it took each young student to make it to the state-wide competition.”

Cheer on Connecticut’s top spellers! The Bee will be held at the University of Saint Joseph’s Hoffman Auditorium, 1678 Asylum Ave, West Hartford, CT 06117, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, 2023. This event is free and open to the public (first come, first served). Doors open at 12:30 p.m. For more information about The Connecticut Spelling Bee, please contact Alex Gerrish by phone at 860-521-5362 ext. 12 or email at [email protected].

The museum would like to thank the University of Saint Joseph for their support of The Connecticut Spelling Bee.

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