Tri-Valley Student Heads To National Spelling Bee

Pleasanton eighth grader Rithvi Balajee is headed back to the Scripps National Spelling Bee after qualifying for a second straight year. (patch.com) Balajee won a berth through the San Ramon Valley Rotary Club’s Regional Spelling Bee, held March 29 at the San Ramon Community Center. (patch.com) (sanramonvalleyrotary.com) The Rotary club listed four 2026 regional winners: Rithvi Balajee of Stratford School, Ishani Dashgupta of BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, Navika Joseph of William Hopkins Junior High School, and Aiden Meng of Orinda Intermediate School. (sanramonvalleyrotary.com) (patch.com) Patch reported the four winners advanced out of a regional field that included 59 other Bay Area students. The national competition is scheduled for May 26-28. (patch.com) (spellingbee.com) Balajee is now in eighth grade at Stratford Middle School’s Pleasanton campus. A Patch profile published April 17 said the return trip follows another standout spelling season. (patch.com) The repeat qualification comes after Balajee’s 2025 run at nationals, where Scripps lists the speller as finishing tied for 89th place. Patch reported Balajee also reached the semifinals in that 2025 competition. (spellingbee.com) (patch.com) Scripps says school champions move through regional qualifiers and regional bees before reaching the national stage. The organization works with more than 175 regional partners around the country. (spellingbee.com 1) (spellingbee.com 2) This year’s national bee will again bring spellers to the Washington area in May, with competition hosted in National Harbor, Maryland. Scripps’ March recap said regional winners from across the country will compete there May 26-28. (spellingbee.com) For Balajee, the path is familiar now: win locally in March, then return to the national stage in May with another shot at the Scripps Cup. (patch.com) (spellingbee.com)