Who May Enter?
The Spelling Bee is open to all 4th-8th grade public, private, parochial, home and charter school students in the
38-county Dallas region. Click here for all of the eligibility rules. Click here to download the eligibility rules in pdf format.
The Dallas Region
The Dallas Region is made up of 38 North and East Texas counties. They include: Anderson, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Franklin, Freestone, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Lamar, Limestone, Marion, Morris, Navarro, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rockwall, Rusk, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood. Each county may send one champion to the Regional Spelling Bee, except Dallas County, which may send two champions — one from the public schools and one from the private schools.
Enrollment:
Enrollment will take place at the Scripps National Website, www.spellingbee.com, from Aug. 15 - Oct. 15, 2008. Scripps has issued an Enrollment and Materials fee for each school involved at any level of the bee. This fee will cover all study material costs. For fee information and to pay the fee, please go to the Scripps Website, www.spellingbee.com. Enrollment at the Scripps Website will also act as registration for The Dallas Morning News Spelling Bee. Click here to download a .pdf of our Enrollment and Materials Fact Sheet. There will be no late enrollment for The Dallas Morning News Region.
Study Materials
The Enrollment and Materials fee issued by Scripps will cover all costs for study materials. Each school will receive unlimited online access to all of Scripps' study materials. Please visit www.spellingbee.com for more information. Click here to download a .pdf of our Enrollment and Materials Fact Sheet.
Please note the following deadlines:
  • October 15 - Deadline to enroll your school with Scripps
  • January 30 - Deadline for reporting School Champion to your County Coordinator
  • February 27 - Deadline for returning County Champion Form and Photo
  • March 21 - The Dallas Morning News Regional Spelling Bee
  • May 23 - 29 - National Spelling Bee Week in Washington, D.C.
Spelling Bee rules
The Dallas Morning News Regional Spelling Bee will use Scripps National Spelling Bee's suggested local bee rules. Click here to download the spelling bee rules in .pdf format.
The Regional Champion
The Regional Champion will win an all-expense paid trip for three to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Spelling Bee, along with many other exciting prizes. Travel provided by Southwest Airlines.
Students should note:
Students should note that the Spell It! is not the only source of words used in district, county and regional finals. The final source is Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its Addenda Section, copyright 2002 by Merriam-Webster.
Video:
Click here to view the 30-second video spot.