Parent Complaint Prompts Spelling Bee Investigaton

An investigation into this year's Murrieta Valley Unified School District Spelling Bee was prompted by a parent's complaint.

When the district bee was held Jan. 26, it marked the first year all schools and districts in the county were instructed to pay a registration fee to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The organization's procedures include different word lists than used in past years in Murrieta Valley Unified.

The result was confusion, stated parent Kathy Perkins-Smerdel.

"...the dreadful realization that a grave misunderstanding had occurred came during the first round when the word assignments started," wrote Perkins-Smerdel, in a four-page letter to the district. "You could see it in the puzzled looks given by students...I believe the majority of those kids studied a much different list in preparation for the bee."

Guy Romero, assistant superintendent of educational services for Murrieta Valley Unified, watched from the audience and said in an email to Perkins-Smerdel that "he too was able to note the confusion regarding the changes in this Bee."

Romero wrote that the confusion experienced by Murrieta Valley Unified was consistent with the problems occurring with many districts in Riverside County that have conducted 2012 spelling bees.

"The source of the confusion is the new requirement to align with Scripps Spelling Bee rules. This change was due to issues raised in 2011 when two finalists at the county level were not allowed to participate in the state competition because schools did not pay the $99 Scripps membership fee at the start of the year. In past years the county provided word lists and Scripps membership was not required. Starting this year the county required all schools pay the $99 and follow Scripps rules."

Perkins-Smerdel—whose fifth-grade daughter was a school winner and proceeded to the bee—was adamant that the word list the students were to study was not made clear prior to the district bee.

Perkins-Smerdel forwarded to Patch a welcome letter her daughter had received in preparation for the district bee. Enclosed was a 16-page word list. The words were grouped according to language of origin. The letter also encouraged spellers to visit the Merriam-Webster website, Myspellit.com, for supplemental preparation materials.

Perkins-Smerdel wrote that the words given in the district bee appeared to her to be from the original two-page list they'd received at the school level.

Following the first round of the bee, half of the spellers were eliminated and parents lined up to challenge.

Karen Parris, spokesperson for Murrieta Valley Unified, confirmed that an investigation followed Perkins-Smerdel's letter to the district.

"...(the) investigation concluded that all of the rules were followed by the spelling bee master at the district spelling bee and no changes will be made in regard to the students who won first, second and third place in the bee," Parris said, in an email to Patch.

"This year Riverside County Office of Education issued several changes for how the spelling bees were to be conducted, both at the school site level and the district level.

"For the first year, the words were not alphabetized, they were scrambled. At the school site level, on the day of the spelling bee the spelling bee master had to draw a number which dictated how many words on the list they were to skip.

"At the district spelling bee, when the word list was pulled from the confidential packet, the words came from three different sources: the initial list students were given to study, words from the Spell It website and words from the dictionary. 

"Unfortunately, all of the parents were not aware of the scrambled word list or that words from three sources would be included in the district bee.

Parris said Romero will be communicating the concerns expressed over the change in rules to Riverside County Office of Education so they are aware of the confusion that occurred.

Rick Peoples, spokesperson for the Riverside County Office of Education, told Patch the county is also using Scripps procedures for the first time this year at the county-level bee, scheduled for March.

However, Peoples said according to Scripps rules, the county does not have jurisdiction over the way local district conduct their spelling bees and can not pass judgment on them.

Patch reported that the new rules had been implemented on a national level.

According to an email from Scripps National Spelling Bee Communications Manager Michael Hickerson, however, there has not been a national rules change this year.

"The materials and method for obtaining materials changed in 2008 and has been the same since 2008," Hickerson said in an email to Patch.

Some of the concerns expressed by parents over the rules implementation at the district-level this year included:

• Words used by the spell master were not on the word list provided to students;

• One student was seated out of order;       

• Numerous words were misspelled and not initially noted by judges; and

• Confusion was expressed over the allowance of asking for a word’s origin.

After conducting an investigation—which Romero wrote included interviewing the district and county bee coordinators, the school principal where Perkins-Smerdel's daughter attends and the director of curriculum for the district—recommendations were made to ensure a smoother district-level bee in future years.

These include:

• Find alternative venues for the district bee where acoustical issues are easily addressed. Place the spelling master at the front left or right and judges in closer position to participants or provide a speaker in front of the judges.

• Include as a member of the judges panel a certificated staff member with a Reading/Language Arts background.

• Hold a parent meeting for finalists and provide detailed explanations as to the rules on word lists and resources to use.      

• Review with parents and students the importance of word origin and definition to spelling.

• Review with parents the time the MVUSD will begin with no allowance for tardiness.        

• Review rules and protocols to site administration at an administrative council meeting in advance of the Bee by the District Spelling Coordinator.      
• Encourage teachers, students, and parents to access resources on the Scripps Spelling Bee website at, www.spellingbee.com as it may help prepare for school and district bees.

• Expand the responsibility of the master of ceremonies to include attending the County Spelling Coordination Council meeting with the district coordinator.

"The district superintendent and staff are concerned about the effects the MVUSD Bee has had on some students," Romero wrote.

"The district is committed to improving student’s experience in future spelling MVUSD bees and implementing the recommendations above will improve communication for parents and participants."