The Brief
- A sixth-grader won her school’s spelling bee just five years after moving to Mesa from the Philippines and learning English.
- The 12-year-old student credits her success to her love of reading and writing despite the initial challenges of language immersion classes.
- She will compete in the district-wide spelling bee competition this Tuesday.
MESA, Ariz. – A Valley 12-year-old is headed to the district-wide spelling bee, having won her school’s spelling bee only a few years after she started learning English.
The backstory:
Althea Smith’s mother said her dream in moving to the United States from the Philippines was to give her daughter a better life. …