06/10/2026
🎉 ¡𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀! We are so excited to celebrate the accomplishments of 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗦á𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘇-𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘇, a Sycamore Elementary School fifth-grader who recently advanced to the 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗼. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗦𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
To reach the state level, he won first place at both the Sycamore and Crowley ISD competitions, then placed second at the Region XI event. At state, he passed through six rounds and was only three positions away from nationals.
Sánchez-Velazquez’s achievement is a story of 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽.
Martha Castillo, the bilingual lead teacher at Sycamore who coordinates the bee for the campus, said that last year, Sánchez-Velazquez was eliminated in early rounds at the district-level bee. But that day in February 2025, 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 that the following year he would take first place.
“Watching him process the defeat was difficult, but it became his primary motivation,” Castillo said. “Along with his mother, Armando studied countless amount of hours. They created a custom study guide and strategy. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳. He went on to place first at district, and second at regions, earning him a spot at the state competition.”
And in doing so, he modeled an important lesson.
“Even though he didn't advance to nationals, 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦,” Castillo said.
In addition to Castillo, Sycamore bilingual teacher Carlos Ortega also supported Sánchez-Velazquez’s journey. Ortega described the state event as tough — so tough that a mystery list of words the students never saw beforehand was used.
“It was a fierce competition, and he represented us well,” Ortega said.
Castillo said annual events such as the Spanish Spelling Bee are becoming cultural touchstones for students.
“𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, ‘𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼 — 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼. 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.’”
