National Spanish Spelling Bee Winner from Gadsden ISD

bees. but not many know that the national spanish spelling bee — got its start right here in our own backyard. photojournalist esmeralda ojeda has more. “nats cheering” it may not hav the glamour of the scripps national spelling bee — but the spanish national spelling bee is gaining traction. “massachusetts, vermont florida, colorado, california …” jos reyes, bilingual instructional specialist for the gadsden school district, has seen the competition grow from just 11 contestants 5 years ago, to nearly 30 this summer. what began as a district-wide competion, grew into a state-wide competition. and then in 2010, “let’s take i national!” . and it has been a great success for the gadsden district. andres arreola and judith villa, both from santa teresa middle school, have won the nssb the past four years. “right here we have andres, first place winner of the national spanish spelling bee …” jorge luis olivas coached both judith and andres on their wins. although all nssb winners have been native spanish speakers– olivas says non-native speakers are placing high. ” the same way spanish kids learn english, it can be the same way, just the other way around.” he add that it’s important for students to master both languages. “it’s no a luxury, it’s a privilege to be able to speak two languages.” as for judith and andres, they are now in high school and cannot compete next year — but gadsden-isd is working to keep the streak alive. ” we have a few in the wings. the enthusiasm that both andres and judith bought to their schools in sunland park is contagious. winning is contagious.” eo, abc-7. the national spanish spelling bee will be held in san antonio next summer. reyes is encouraging students from all el paso school districts to enter. remembering bobby lesley. nearly 40 years ago — he