Tension was high at the March 1 2024 Prince George’s County Spelling Bee presented by The Washington Informer and Washington Informer Charities which ran late into the evening at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. But at the end of 22 nail-biting rounds, while a student from a parochial school emerged the winner, a Kenmoor Middle School student was the runner-up!
8th grade student John Johnson, a bass player in Kenmoor's orchestra, touched everyone by dedicating his first-ever County Bee participation to his late grandmother. Wrote John in his program bio "I want to show her and everyone else how much someone from my family can achieve in education."
John won second place with the word "hidalgo" in a runoff with Ethan Braithwaite of Samule Ogle MS. All 29 spellers, from the 5th graders to the 8th graders, collected well-earned trophies for their letter perfection!
