The Rhode Island State Spelling Bee
Coming March 2027
WELCOME
Thank you for your interest in the Rhode Island State Spelling Bee. The Bee is tentatively scheduled to be held on a Saturday in March 2027 at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Middle School in Lincoln, RI. You’ll find all the information you need here. Remember, only students from schools registered with the Scripps National Spelling Bee may participate. Thank you!
- James Quinn, deputy publisher, The Valley Breeze.
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Rhode Island Spelling Bee News
B y JACQUELYN MOOREHEAD Valley Breeze & Observer Staff Writer jackie@valleybreeze.com According to Scripps, the vocabulary portion was added in 2021, and is designed to challenge spellers and further advance the Bee’s focus on word knowledge and literacy. The third round consisted of a written test that required a passing score of 13 correct answers. Pagliarini finished with 12 correct. The written portion includes spelling and vocabulary words. Pagliarini previously competed in the 2024 National Spelling Bee, where she tied for 60th place, and again in 2025, where she tied for 100th place. Pagliarini has one more shot at the national championship, as it allows students in grades 3-8 to compete. Pagliarini has won the district spelling bee in Scituate since she entered the competition as a 3rd-grader at Hope Elementary School. Pagliarini said her next steps are to study harder than “ever before.” Without a doubt, she said she will compete in the Scituate Spelling Bee next year with the goal of winning that and the state spelling bee to make it to nationals a final time. “Of course I’ll compete next year, as it’s my last chance to compete in the Bee. Even though I didn’t place where I wanted to, after all this, I’m glad to have made so many friends in Washington, D.C.,” she said. Pagliarini said she is grateful for the experience each year, and said she could not be more determined to go back to the Bee again. “The Scripps National Spelling Bee has encouraged me to push my mind to its fullest potential, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn (what) I’m truly capable of,” she said. According to her biography, Pagliarini enjoys reading, riding horses, dance, and family time. She jumps 2-foot courses during her riding lessons and looks forward to achieving higher jumps. Pagliarini volunteers at fundraising events for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She also helps her family foster more than 40 cats in addition to her three pet cats, Peeve, Mulligan, and Matt Foley Motivational Speaker. She also has a pet guinea pig named Teddy Piper Nibbles.
SCITUATE – Hope Elementary School 5th-grader Elliana Pagliarini landed in Washington, D.C. this week to represent Rhode Island in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and she said she was ready for a week full of nothing but words. Pagliarini, daughter of Heather and Rich Pagliarini, said she studied hundreds of words to prepare for the two-night competition May 29-30 in the nation’s capital. The national competition also requires participants to define words, she said. Pagliarini previously won the Rhode Island State Spelling Bee, sponsored by The Breeze. Her first day in the capital was spent getting acquainted with the resort, and meeting other contestants. There are 245 contestants, and Pagliarini has made it to the quarterfinals, in the top 148. On Monday, Pagliarini proudly waved the Rhode Island flag during the opening ceremonies. She is the only contestant representing Rhode Island. Spellers at the national bee beat state and regional spelling competitions, with 11 million spellers competing in total, said Pagliarini’s mother, Heather. Spelling began on Wednesday, Pagliarini said, with the contestant spelling one word after studying 900 words. If she spelled that correctly, she would move on to the second round of vocabulary. For that competition, Pagliarini said, she studied 1,700 words and definitions, and will be asked to define only one word. During the next round, Pagliarini would spell multiple words from a 500-word selection. The competition runs for three hours until the judges have a certain number of spellers for the quarter-final, she said. Words for the quarter-final are selected from the unabridged dictionary of 75,000 words. “You never know which words you’re going to get,” she said. Heather said that not all words are in English, either. Some words are in German, Yiddish, Javanese, or Sanskrit. “I have no problem with Sanskrit,” she stated. After that, a final round will be held with 13 spellers, where the winner receives a $50,000 prize and bragging rights, Pagliarini said. “There has never been a champion from Rhode Island. I hope to be the first in Rhode Island to win,” she added. Pagliarini and her mother agree that her chances are pretty good for the win, since she already won the Scituate Spelling Bee twice, and she’s eligible to compete for another three years. She said she likes to spell and loves the competition. “I’m happy that I’ve pushed myself to be here,” she said. On her trip, Pagliarini has spent plenty of time playing word games. She said the spellers have a yearbook where they collect each other’s signatures, and she’s met numerous other spellers, including last year’s champion. “It’s really cool,” she said. The Scripps National Spelling Bee can be viewed on the ION channel for free on May 30 at 8 p.m.