Colorado Concurso de Deletreo

Mission:  Our mission is to empower, engage, and educate Spanish speaking students, families, and our public school system to provide educational equity and equal opportunity to gain the advantages of preparing for and participating in Spanish spelling bees.

Vision:  The Concurso de Deletreo Colorado State Spanish Spelling Bee is founded on the belief that equal opportunities are crucial to student and school success.  The Concurso inspires children to explore words, develop study skills, and experience success in an academic endeavor, Spanish spelling bees.

The Concurso de Deletreo Colorado State Spanish Spelling Bee is a positive event for the contestants and their families and is the source of great pride and enthusiasm for all who are involved plus it has positive academic impact on all students who participate at all levels; local, state, and national. It is a one-of-its-kind opportunity in Colorado.

The Concurso de Deletreo, founded in 2015, is an all-volunteer organization that provides resources for students and schools, technical assistance to schools and teachers, and conducts a statewide Spanish spelling bee, the Concurso de Deletreo.  The Concurso is a Spanish spelling bee for students in grades 3-8 from across the state. 

Prior to 2015 schools across Colorado offered spelling bees for students in English. But there were no similar opportunities in Spanish.  Unless the student was fluent in English, students could not participate in a spelling bee at all. This situation was inequitable because many children knew how to spell in Spanish and that gift was not being recognized. Latinx students across the state were underrepresented in extra-curricular activities and involvement in extracurricular academic activities was even lower. The academic benefits of spelling bees are well documented, and the social opportunities were also significant. A Spanish spelling bee was an opportunity to elevate the status of Spanish across the state as the language not only of laborers but also of academic champions.

We were inspired by the National Spanish Spelling Bee.  The National Spanish Spelling Bee was a positive experience for students and families from across the country. The benefits went to both the students and families, academically and socio-emotionally.  Students could display their talents and assets in an academic exercise.  The parents became involved in the preparation of their students for the local bee and for the state and national bees as well.  The students were encouraged to read and were coached in good study habits.  The habits that they acquired in preparing for the bee are transferable to all of their school subjects and increase opportunities for success.  To us, it was a question of equity, to provide an opportunity that was not otherwise available; a way to increase student involvement in a co-curricular activity and to increase meaningful family engagement in school and learning.