North Kingstown Student Spells His Way Into Top 10

C-O-R-O-L-L-A-R-Y

With that, Cranston student Jessica Anderson was crowned Rhode Island Spelling champion Saturday morning at Lincoln Middle School. She will now go on to represent the state in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

North Kingstown seventh-grader Siddarth Koppaka came close, spelling his way into the top 10 before stumbling on the word "exaggerate" in the fourth round.

Anderson beat out 26 other fourth- through eighth-grade students from throughout Rhode Island. She spelled her way through seven rounds, correctly spelling diorama, pinafore, hydrology, rotunda, replaceable, mortgage and epilepsy to reach the finals against Barrington’s Kiernan McGartoll. There, she correctly spelled "indiscretion" and "corollary" to take the title.

“I’m extremely excited,” said Anderson, 13, a home-school student in the 8^th grade, immediately after her win. “I’ve been here three times. I knew I studied more this year. I’ve never been to Washington. I’m just so excited.”

Anderson is no stranger to academic competition. Saturday marked her third time in the statewide spelling bee, and her third top-10 finish, having placed 4^th and 10^th the last two years. She also competed in the Jeopardy kids tournament last year. She said the secret to her spelling success is simply studying.

“We studied for an hour a day, Monday through Friday,” Anderson said. “I read the list first, then I look for something to help me remember — if it’s similar to another word I know. It just gets drilled in my head.”

Mom Dawn Anderson does most of the drilling as Jessica’s spelling teacher. The pair worked mostly off the Scripps list of frequently asked words, all 349 pages of it. “We did 10 pages at a time. We made it up to F,” Dawn Anderson said. “ She’s always worked hard at school. We have a system that works for us.”

That system includes five to six hours of course work a day, and the one-on-one attention students can’t get in a school, dad Jeffrey Anderson said. “She loves the one-on-one attention,” he said. “She learns at her pace and she learns in full. We can expand on a subject and go in depth.”

The family will travel to Washington D.C. for the national bee May 30-June 3, where Jessica will face off against about 200 other spellers from around the country.

WPRI-TV 12 anchor Erin Kennedy served as the pronouncer for Saturday’s statewide bee, which is sponsored and hosted by The Valley Breeze. Students interested in competing in future bees can check out study guides at www.spellingbee.com and www.spellit.com.