Bradford Students Sweep Top Three Spots at Region 15 Spanish Spelling Bee

Bradford Elementary School students swept the top three spots in the 4th–5th grade division at the 3rd Annual Region 15 Spanish Spelling Bee on March 3. Hosted by Education Service Center (ESC) Region 15, the event brought together students from across the region to showcase their mastery of Spanish vocabulary in a spirited celebration of language and culture. More than just a spelling contest, the competition highlighted language aptitude while celebrating bilingualism and Hispanic heritage. 

Leading the 4th–5th grade division were Emmanuel Cuevas, 4th grade, who earned first place; Esmeralda Cuevas, 5th grade, who placed second; and Daniel Sanchez, 5th grade, who finished third. Emmanuel and Esmeralda will advance to the State Spanish Spelling Bee in El Paso this June.

“The Spanish Spelling Bee is more than a competition — it is a celebration of bilingualism, heritage pride, and academic excellence,” said Mary Castanuela, Title III Education Specialist at Region 15. “This event gives students the opportunity to showcase their language skills, build confidence, and be recognized for the hard work they put into mastering Spanish, many of them in their heritage language.”

The event also promotes confidence, communication skills, and perseverance. Participants not only demonstrated spelling ability but also developed important life skills such as focus, preparation, and performing under pressure.

“Watching the final rounds of the Spanish Spelling Bee as my students advanced to the finals made me feel very proud and excited,” said Bradford Elementary Principal Dr. Marissa Guerrero. “I was impressed by their confidence, preparation, and the effort they put into learning and spelling the words correctly. It was rewarding to see their hard work pay off and to watch them represent Bradford Elementary School so well.”

Dr. Guerrero said students interested in participating were invited to compete at the campus level. From those participants, the top 12 spellers were selected to represent their school at the regional event.

The spelling bee featured two divisions: grades 4–5 and grades 6–8. In the middle school division, seven students competed across nine rounds. The elementary division included 17 competitors from grades 4 and 5. After 26 rounds, Emmanuel Cuevas, a 4th-grade student from Bradford Elementary, secured first place by correctly spelling “nómada” and “prueba.”

“One of the most memorable moments was during the Grades 4-5 competition where three students from Bradford Elementary went 12 rounds until one was eliminated to get to our last two students,” said Mrs. Castanuela. “It was amazing that all three students did so well with the multisyllabic words and words with accents. The final two then went two rounds before we crowned our champion.”

Congratulations to all participants, and thank you to our dedicated educators who helped prepare and support these students! The district also extends its appreciation to the generous community partners who made the ESC Region 15 Spanish Spelling Bee possible: Angelo State University, Hartman Roofing, H-E-B, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Juany’s Salsa, Julio’s, the Consulate of Mexico in Del Rio and ESC Region 15.

To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. For more information about the SAISD Bilingual Program, please continue reading below.

About the ESC Region 15 Spanish Spelling Bee

The Spanish Spelling Bee was implemented by ESC Region 15 in 2024. After meeting with other education service centers, Dr. Michael Bohensky, School Improvement Coordinator and Texas Instructional Leadership Lead at ESC Region 15, introduced the idea of a regional Spanish Spelling Bee. The initiative quickly gained support after local districts expressed interest.

Want to Get Involved?

ESC Region 15 encourages schools, families, and community partners to support future Spanish spelling bees by promoting Spanish literacy, encouraging student participation and celebrating bilingualism across the region.

More on the San Angelo ISD Bilingual Program – ¡Orgullo Bilingüe!

SAISD is committed to all English Language Learners’ (EL) language and academic needs. We believe it’s important for our students to hold onto their native language of Spanish and to continue speaking it fluently, while developing English language skills and achieving academic success. 

The SAISD Bilingual Program provides Spanish-speaking students the opportunity to become English proficient by the third grade. The program builds knowledge of academic subjects in both a child’s first language and English while fostering confidence, cultural pride, and a strong academic foundation.

For more information or questions, contact SAISD Director of Differentiated Instruction and Special Populations Angela Pidgeon at angela.pidgeon@saisd.org or by phone at 325-947-3838.