CPS students, grades first through eighth, competed in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Marie Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. Winner Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, right, 13, of Skinner North Classical School, will go to the 100th Scripps’ National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. CPS has sent a regional winner to the National Spelling Bee for more than 60 years.
Damien Kennedy, of Brennemann Elementary, reacts after spelling pomegranate wrong and being eliminated during the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Viktor Krivosic, right, of Burr Elementary, competes in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship on Thursday. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, 13, of Skinner North Classical School, attempts to spell sauerkraut as her last word during the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship against other Chicago Public School students at Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. Whitford-Rodriguez won the competition and will get to compete in the 100th Scripps’ National Spelling Bee this May, in Washington, D.C. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Ruth Aguilar, of Logan Square Elementary, competes with other Chicago Public Schools students in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, left, 13, of Skinner North Classical School reacts after winning the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship, alongside Kwame Boateng, of McDade Classical School, at Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Zach Bush, of Nettlehorst Elementary, reacts after spelling a word correctly during the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, 13, of Skinner North Classical School reacts after winning the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Kwame Boateng, of McDade Classical, dabs up Diego Lorenzo, of Chase Elementary, after he spelled a word correctly in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Pamela Young holds up an incorrect sign as she helps judge the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
From left, Viktor Krivosic, of Burr Elementary, Danica Marinkovic, of Dever Elementary, and JerJuan Scales of H. Washington Elementary, wait for their turn to compete in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School on March 13, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Zach Bush, of Nettlehorst Elementary, holds the second place trophy after a four-way tie for second during the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship at Curie Metropolitan High School. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, 13, of Skinner North Classical School, hugs her grandmother, Rosa Matilde Navas, after winning the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
From left, Zach Bush, of Nettlehorst Elementary, Damien Kennedy, of Brennemann Elementary, wait for their turn to compete in the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship . (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Beatriz Whitford-Rodriguez, right, 13, of Skinner North Classical School, leaves with her father, Ben Whitford, and family, after winning the 2025 Citywide Spelling Bee Championship against other Chicago Public Schools students at Curie Metropolitan High School. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune
