Terrell C. Gladney Memorial Academy

03/22/2026

Today we made history, hosting the 1st Annual SCUSD Community Schools Spelling Bee at Oak Ridge Elementary School. Kai Johnson of Theodore Judah Elementary School was crowned Champion, and will be our first-ever SCUSD scholar to grace the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage.

The event showcased the brilliance of SCUSD scholars, and the tremendous power of the SCUSD village, as families, teachers, administrators, staff and students filled the room with love and care for each speller representing campuses from across the SCUSD landscape. This opportunity would not have been possible without the leadership and support of the SCUSD Community Schools Department, who funded enrollment for EVERY eligible SCUSD school, including traditional and charter, that made today a reality. Their team, led by Coordinator Saralyn Bienvenue, curated a beautiful experience for all, including lunch, decor and the most amazing level of hospitality imaginable that made every singke individual in the space feeling welcomed, valued and loved, truly establishing a community of fellowship.

THANK YOU to our officials! Our Pronouncer was Past SCUSD Board President Gracie Phillips, and our all-student judging panel included our inaugural Capital Spelling Bee Champion and Runner-Up Nithika Rangan and Connor Doherty; and SCUSD Student Advisory Committee member Owen Naqica, all of whom nurtured the scholars with love and care before and throughout and competition.

Additional thanks to Board Trustees April Ybarra and Michael Benjamin; Oak Ridge Elementary School and Principal Tiffany Whelden, who volunteered to host one year ago at our Regional Competition; .co for providing another amazing set of awards; for once-again providing a natural, high quality product for all of us to enjoy; .culinaryarts for borrowing the buddies and minds of our spellers with a healthy, nutritious breakfast, and for introducing our families to her wonderful children's literature series.

It took two years, but it is fulfilling to have a vision manifested, and we are driven to continue to create this experience for our SCUSD and other district scholars in the future.

03/14/2026

Two Champions are Crowned! Earlier this afternoon, siblings Ryan and Priya Sekera were named Co-Champions of the Capital Spelling Bee and will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Finishing in third and missing out on a return trip to Nationals is Shruthi, who competed brilliantly throughout. Only a 7th grader, we look forward to seeing her again on the Capital Spelling Bee stage next year.

03/14/2026

Drama ensues in the ballroom as we have reached our final three spellers - 2025 Co-Champions Ryan and Shruthi are joined by Ryan's older sister, Priya, to determine our two Co-Champions in 2026!

03/14/2026

We are committed to fully embodying our root value of re-seed by creating spaces and experiences our scholars seek to return to and pour back into those that follow in their footsteps.

We have created a Hall of Honor as part of the Capital Spelling Bee to celebrate those that have carried the Sacramento Region on their shoulders as they navigated the Scripps National Spelling Bee journey.

We are blessed and honored to have Nithika Rangan, the first Capital Spelling Bee Champion, and her mother Sandy, return to us once again as pronouncer and Head Judge, respectively. Last Year's co-champions Ryan and Shruthi return as competitors, with Connor's younger brother Alec making his Capital Spelling Bee debut as a fifth grader.

03/14/2026

Our 21 of 35 remaining spellers meet vocabulary in Round 4.

03/14/2026

We are into the 3rd Round at the 2026 Capital Spelling Bee. At the end of the competition, we will have two representatives from the Sacramento Region headed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee !

03/04/2026

Sunday Afternoon, we had the pleasure of livestreaming our announcement of spellers advancing to the 3rd Annual Capital Spelling Bee on March 14. We're including the presentation, including all 35 spellers who will share the stage at the Sacramento Youth Center. We are honored to be the Sacramento Region Partner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Congratulations the following spellers:

Eli Archer | Saint Rose School | Roseville
Mayra Arjune | Natomas Park Elementary School | Sacramento
Violet Berrier | Saint Michael's Episcopal Day School | Carmichael
Manuel Cherian | Rocklin Academy Gateway | Rocklin
Adithi Chowdary | Riverview Stem Academy | Rancho Cordova
Luukas Coleman | Arete Charter Academy | Grass Valley
Theodore Culbreath | Presentation School | Sacramento
Jasmine Leanne Degala | Russell Ranch Elementary School | Folsom
Alec Doherty | Saint Albans Country Day School | Roseville
Zoey Dunphy | Northside Steam School | Cool
Nolan Eicher | Clarksville Charter School | El Dorado Hills
Whitney Fields | Sacred Heart School | Sacramento
Emma Flatter | Earl Legette Elementary School | Fair Oaks
Kai Furukawa | Elliott Ranch Elementary School | Elk Grove
Kean Garcia | Westlake Charter School | Sacramento
Phoenix Mae Gold Sullivan | Phoenix Rising | Grass Valley
Pranav Karyamapudi | Earl E Williams Middle School | Tracy
Arshpreet Kaur | Sacramento Valley Charter School | West Sacramento
Muhammad Khan | Folsom Educational Academy | Folsom
Srihan Kongara | Sutter Middle School | Folsom
Will Lindfors | Shirley Rominger Intermediate School | Winters
Sriram Nelluri | Natomas Charter School | Sacramento
Aanya Prasad | T R Smedberg Middle School | Sacramento
Raghavi Ranganathan | Brookfield School | Sacramento
Anahita Rezvani | Carl Sundahl Elementary School | Folsom
Leander Risbud-Bartl | Patwin Elementary School | Davis
Priya Sekera | Cavitt Junior High School | Granite Bay
Ryan Sekera | Ridgeview Elementary School | Granite Bay
Jaan Brando Singh | Theodore Judah Elementary School | Folsom
Avyukt Srinivasan | Folsom Middle School | Folsom
Shruthi Srinivasan | Granite Oaks Middle School | Rocklin
Mitra Sundelin | Robert E Willett Elementary School | Davis
Jaivant Vanka | Golden Hills School | El Dorado Hills
Kylina Wu | Roy Herburger Elementary School | Elk Grove
Aidan Zhang | Rocklin Academy | Rocklin

And congratulations to all of our Region's School Champions!

12/29/2025

Happy birthday to noted spelling bee champion John Legend! 🎤 Long before he became a famous singer and songwriter, he won the Springfield District Spelling Bee in 1989 when he was just 10 years old and living in Ohio. 🐝 He was homeschooled, and this is a photo of him studying with his mom Phyllis. In fact, he was so smart he skipped two grades and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania at age 16. A true Legend!

11/12/2025

We challenge our scholars to level up and do more with each moment. We have tried to modeled this by expanding our Regional Partnership with the Scripps National Spelling Bee each year.

We have grown from Regional Partner to Gold Partner to Platinum Partner in just three years, committed to creating increased opportunities for our Sacramento Region Youth through increased investment.

To have our organization, and Terrell's name and legacy, recognized alongside such powerful organizations is an honor that we embrace along with the challenge we put before ourselves to level up and do more. To be more. For our scholars. Today and always.

11/10/2025

Had a great night out at the Kings game with two current Pony Express scholars and an alum. Didn't light the beam tonight but the scholars were beaming thanks to the generous contribution of Learn Fresh and the Kings. As a provider of the NBA Math Hoops curriculum and SCUSD Youth Development Expanding Learning Supplemental Provider, Terrell C. Gladney Memorial Academy engages scholars grades 2-8 in math education across the Sacramento City Unified School District and in our Summer Experience program.

Experiences such as these, and the Math Hoops Live! program, build upon the board-game experience and truly brings math to life in the real-world, connecting these and other scholars from the cradle to college and beyond with life and career pathways.

By connecting our TCG scholars in multiple programming offerings, including Math Hoops, Scholar B.R.I.D.G.E Mentoring, R.O.O.T.S Gardening, Legion of Zoom Athletic Club, Summer Experience, and Capital Spelling Bee, we are committed to honoring and empowering the whole child by creating safe spaces where they can have fun, learn, and grow.

11/10/2025

11/10/2025