Boy wins spelling bee 4 years after learning English

[Francis Hult]

The Evening Sun

 

Boy wins spelling bee 4 years after learning English

 

For each of the last 20 years, St. Vincent de Paul School in Hanover has sent one student to the Harrisburg diocesan spelling bee. 

 

No student from St. Vincent's has ever come close to winning the contest, in which 34 schools compete. 

 

No one that is, until Benjamin Gutiérrez won first place on April 22. The sixth-grader triumphed, winning $1,000 in prizes from spelling-bee sponsor Houghton Mifflin, $100 in prizes for his teacher, Kristin Wisner, and a $100 savings bond for himself. 

 

All this is more incredible because, just four years ago, Benjamin did not speak English. 

In fact, he was the only spelling-bee contestant not born in the U.S. 

 

Benji came to Hanover from Perú with his family the summer before second grade. His parents wanted to enroll him in a Catholic school and tried to register him in another parochial school closer to their home. 

 

Full story:

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_9222659

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