Last week saw several rounds unfold before the Carrollton City Schools 2024 Spelling Bee champion was decided, with sixth grader Amaiya Deshields earning the title of this year’s district spelling bee champion.
The winner of the 2024 Carrollton City Schools spelling bee is sixth grader Amaiya Deshields. The runner-up is seventh grader Gray Esslinger.
Battling in the final rounds with runner-up Gray Esslinger, a seventh grader, Amaiya eventually claimed the victory when she correctly spelled “centrifuged.”
Gray was a skilled challenger and will be the alternate speller at region if Amaiya cannot compete. The Region 4 competition will be held Feb. 24. The event is sponsored by the Carrollton Association of Educators, while the Georgia Association of Educators sponsors the region and state bees.
The other spellers who competed were fourth graders SJ Hayes and Kamrin Robinson, fifth graders Lanie Cotton and Abigail Guerra, sixth grader Jack McGrath, seventh grader Grant Carter, and eighth graders Antonio Stanley and Drew Williams.
Volunteer Fae Kelley has officiated since her son, Thomas Cox, a graduate of Carrollton High School, was in junior high more than three decades ago. Judges this year were Joe Lipham and School Resource Officer Eddie Christmas.
