Pictured from the left are Jackson School Board member Pat McDonald, District Spelling Bee honorees Kylee Miller (fifth place), Cooper Harris (fourth place), Cole Miranda (third place), Arizona McComas (second place), Gavin Brandau (first place), Jackson School Board Vice President Kim White, and Jackson School Board member Christopher Smalley. The students were honored during the Jan. 6 meeting of the Jackson City Board of Education for placing in the top five in the District Spelling Bee. (Telegram Photo by Jeremiah Shaver)
Five students were honored during the Jackson School Board meeting in January because they were winners in the annual District Spelling Bee that was held in December.
Jackson Middle School Principal Tara Richards and Southview Elementary Principal Heather Michael were on hand to talk about the Spelling Bee and introduce the winners.
The District Spelling Bee was held on Dec. 3, 2025, with Julie Haines, who is an administrative associate at the Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center, serving in the role of spelling bee word pronouncer. The Scripps National Spelling Bee provided the words. There were 24 students who participated in the District Spelling Bee. There were representatives from each elementary school and the middle school.
Over the course of the Spelling Bee, students were eliminated until Gavin Brandau, a sixth-grader at Jackson Middle School, claimed first place. Other winners included Arizona McComas, an eighth-grader at Jackson Middle School, who placed second; Cole Miranda, a fifth-grader at Southview Elementary, who placed third; Cooper Harris, an eighth-grader at Jackson Middle School, who placed fourth; and Kylee Miller, a seventh-grader at Jackson Middle School, who placed fifth.
Richards asked the students if they remembered the last word they spelled correctly. Gavin’s last correctly spelled word was “dictatorship,” McComas’s was “scurrying,” Miranda’s was “courier,” Harris’ was “prestigious,” and Miller’s was “equestrian.”
All five District Spelling Bee winners were present for the Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Room 110 at Jackson High School. The Board presented each with a certificate of recognition which honored their achievement.
It was mentioned that the Regional Spelling Bee in Athens will be held on Feb. 28, 2026. One student from each elementary school and the middle school will be allowed to compete.
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