Roads to Success Hosts Its First Annual Spelling Bee Challenge

On Tuesday, February 17, 2026, something special happened at Roads to Success.

This day marked an exciting milestone for Roads to Success(RTS) as we proudly hosted our First Annual Spelling Bee Challenge, a celebration of literacy, confidence, and academic excellence. Families, mentors, educators, and young scholars gathered for a day filled with anticipation, courage, and the joy of learning.

But this event was about more than spelling. It was about legacy. This year, Roads to Success proudly celebrates 25 years of serving young people across New York City. For a quarter of a century, RTS has helped students strengthen their academic foundations, discover their potential, and build confidence in who they are, and who they are becoming.

The Spelling Bee was not simply a new event. It was a reflection of that 25 year commitment.

This inaugural competition marked the beginning of what we hope will become a beloved RTS tradition. While our vision is to one day bring together scholars from every Roads to Success site across the city, we were proud to launch this first chapter with two of our Brooklyn school communities. Thirty students, from our after-school sites at P.S. 532 and P.S. 770,  took the stage, ten each from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

In the weeks leading up to the competition, participating students committed to what we proudly called their Spelling Bee 'personal training'. For five weeks, they dedicated four hours each week, both after school and at home, to studying vocabulary, understanding words in context, and practicing through quiz-style rounds.

This level of preparation reflects RTS’s deep commitment to literacy as a core focus of our elementary afterschool programs.

Our enrichment model emphasizes:

• Language comprehension
• Background knowledge development
• Vocabulary building
• Verbal reasoning skills

Spelling is more than memorization. It requires students to identify relationships between words, apply logical thinking, understand context clues, and draw on prior knowledge. Through spelling practice, students expand their vocabulary while strengthening the critical thinking skills that support long-term academic success.

One by one, these 30 future leaders approached the microphone with focus and courage. The room was filled with applause, encouragement, and proud smiles from families who understood that standing on that stage was an accomplishment in itself. Events like this do more than test academic skills. They build voice, composure, and self-belief. Standing onstage, thinking under pressure, and speaking clearly before an audience are experiences that help shape future leaders.

We are proud to celebrate our 2026 Spelling Bee Champions:

3rd Grade: Thiago L. from P.S. 532

4th Grade: Milo A. from P.S. 770

5th Grade: Aaron B. from P.S. 532

Each champion demonstrated exceptional preparation and confidence, and we applaud every participant who committed to the journey and stepped forward to compete.

Milestones like this are only possible because of strong partnerships. We extend our sincere gratitude to Mr. B, Principal of P.S. 532 and Ms. Saratovsky, Principal of P.S. 770 for their leadership and unwavering support. A special thank you to Mr. B for graciously hosting the event and providing the space that allowed this vision to come to life. We are equally grateful to our mentors, role models, and families. Your encouragement, guidance, and belief in our students are the foundation on which their confidence is built.

For 25 years, RTS has helped young people build strong academic foundations and stronger belief in themselves. On February 17, we saw that mission spelled out, one word at a time. And this is only the beginning.