City of Boston, MA

03/30/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/30/2026 11:48

Boston's Best Spellers Celebrated at 18th Annual Citywide Spelling Bee

Boston's Best Spellers Celebrated at 18th Annual Citywide Spelling Bee

Family members, teachers, and friends were on hand this past Saturday to support 25 Boston youth from across the City competing in Boston's 18th annual BCYF Citywide Spelling Bee. Organized by Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF), the City of Boston's largest youth and human service agency, and sponsored by the Boston Bruins Foundation, the winner, Sanjay Malhotra, now goes on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May.

Over 3,000 young people participated in Boston public and parochial school spelling bees to qualify for the BCYF Citywide Bee. The preparation helps young people improve their spelling, broaden their vocabulary, and build self-confidence.

"The remarkable poise and linguistic talent shown by our spellers today were truly inspiring, and we are immensely proud of every student who took the stage," said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of BCYF. "We remain deeply grateful to the Boston Bruins Foundation for their steadfast partnership in providing this enriching opportunity for our city's youth. A special thank you goes to our esteemed judges for volunteering their time and expertise to support our students' academic journeys. We will be enthusiastically cheering on Sanjay as he represents the pride of Boston at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this May."

Commissioner Rivera opened the speaking program and welcomed the spellers and their families. All spellers were given participation medals. The Bee was held in Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library's Copley Branch. Judges were Head Judge: Kristin McSwain, Chief of Policy and Research, City of Boston; Pronouncer: Sebastian Stockman; Professor of English, Northeastern University; and Records Judge: Lisa Conley, Deputy Chief of Human Services, City of Boston.

Sanjay Malhotra, age 12, the winner of this year's Bee, won by spelling "Brume" correctly. The second place finisher was Haylee Chen, age 12 and coming in third was Saabir Abdirahman, age 9. The Bee went 13 rounds and 3 final and 7 championship rounds.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running spelling bee. This year's Boston winner will now advance to compete in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The one and only national winner from Massachusetts was in 1939. In addition to the opportunity to advance to the National Bee, the BCYF Spelling Bee winner receives a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online Premium, a one-year subscription to News-O-Matic Subscription and a trophy. Second place and third place finishers received a $125 Amazon gift card and trophies.

Participating Spellers:

#

School

Speller Name

Grade

Age

Neighborhood

1

Boston College High School

Connor Theis

8

10

East Boston

2

Boston Latin Academy

Maya Mastrodicasa

8

14

West Roxbury

3

Boston Latin School

Lily Liang

7

12

Brighton

4

Boston Preparatory Charter School

Elizabeth Brea

8

13

Back Bay

5

Curtis Guild Elementary

James Brownwell

5

11

East Boston

6

David A. Ellis Elementary School

Juliyanni Banks

6

12

Roxbury

7

Dudley St. Neighborhood Charter School

Marie Ndoye

4

10

Roxbury

8

Edison K-8

Paul Jepson

6

12

Brighton

9

Edward Brooke Charter School, East Boston

Nathan Solomon

7

12

East Boston

10

Edward Brooke Charter School, Mattapan

Saabir Abdirahman

4

9

Roxbury

11

Edward Brooke Charter School, Roslindale

Ethan Dorilas

7

12

Mattapan

12

Henry Grew Elementary School

Ardyn Perry

5

10

Roslindale

13

Hugh R. O' Donnell Elementary School

Haytam El Ayoubi

4

10

East Boston

14

James F. Condon K-8 School

Laylah Robinson

6

11

South End

15

James Otis Elementary School

Aliyah May Francois

6

11

East Boston

16

John Eliot K-8

Sanjay Malhotra

6

12

Roxbury

17

Joseph Manning Elementary School

Sydney Schiff

5

10

Jamaica Plain

18

Kipp Academy, Boston

Debra - Faith Butler

4

10

Dorchester

19

Patrick Lyndon Elementary School

Coraline McNamara

5

11

Roslindale

20

Rafael Hernandez K-8 School

Malala Madden Fuoco

6

11

Hyde Park

21

Richard Murphy K-8 School

Sophia Rice

4

9

Dorchester

22

Samuel Adams Elementary

Julian Grondin

4

10

East Boston

23

South Boston Catholic Academy

Liam Sullivan

3

24

St. John School

Madelyn Lashway

6

11

Back Bay

25

Warren Prescott K-8 School

Alexandra Das

5

10

Charlestown

26

William H. Ohrenberger

Clairy Gonzalez-Pimentel

5

11

Roslindale

27

Winship Elementary School

Haylee Chen

6

12

Brighton

Winning words from the previous years of the Bee:

Year

Winning Word

2008

Lariat

2009

Scenario

2010

Ravioli

2011

Toboggan

2012

Myriad

2013

Schnauzer

2014

Contiguous

2015

Schottische

2016

Diurnal

2017

Cacophony

2018

Crescendo

2019

Huckabee

2021

Glissando

2022

Après

2023

Ancho

2024

Cornea

2025

Senecio

2026

Brume

Boston Centers for Youth & Families'smission is to strengthen Boston youth and families in their pursuit of success through meaningful relationships, essential programs, and vital community resources.

  • Last updated: March 30, 2026
City of Boston, MA published this content on March 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 30, 2026 at 17:49 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]