Leaders in Lexicon: Spring Champions Crowned in 10th Vocabulary Bowl

K-12 schools mastered millions of words to claim top spots on divisional leaderboards, while teachers were celebrated for igniting their students' competitive spirits

SAN MATEO, Calif., April 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vocabulary.com is delighted to announce the winners of the Spring 2024 Vocabulary Bowl, a biannual competition that brings together K-12 schools across North America to showcase their vocabulary and literacy skills. More than 160,000 students from 1,800 schools mastered a total of 4,400,000 words throughout the spring, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to linguistic excellence. Schools competed in three distinct categories based on enrollment size: Division I for the largest schools, Division II for mid-sized schools, and Division III for the smallest schools. In addition to honoring top-performing schools, this year's competition celebrated teachers who inspired their students to expand their vocabulary and earn the most points. Additionally, Rookie awards welcomed and recognized newcomers to the vocabulary arena.

The results are now official: After an exhilarating battle of words, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School emerged as the spring champion, dethroning the seven-time winner, Etiwanda High School, by mastering an impressive 111,000 words. Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy continued its winning streak, claiming the top spot in its division for their fifth season. In a display of sheer dominance, Sig Rogich Middle School and Morehead City Middle School both secured first place in their respective divisions for the second season in a row.

The Division Winners for the Spring 2024 Season are:

• Division I:
  • High School: Saint Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
  • Middle School: Sig Rogich Middle School (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• Division II:
  • High School: DuBois Area High School (DuBois, Pennsylvania)
  • Middle School: Ladera Vista Junior High School (Fullerton, California)
• Division III:
  • High School: Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy (Vacaville, California)
  • Middle School: Morehead City Middle School (Morehead City, North Carolina)

The Division Runners Up are: 

• Division I:
  • High School: Etiwanda High School (Etiwanda, California)
  •  Middle School: McAuliffe Middle School (Los Alamitos, California)
• Division II:
  • High School: The Ursuline School (New Rochelle, New York)
  • Middle School: Alice C Stelle Middle School (Calabasas, California)
• Division III:
  • High School: Arp High School (Arp, Texas)
  • Middle School: Learning Tree Elementary School (Dalton, Georgia)

The U.S. Winners are: 

• Hanceville Middle School - Hanceville, Alabama
• Minto School - Minto, Alaska
• Pearce Elementary School - Pearce, Arizona
• Central High School - Little Rock, Arkansas
• Etiwanda High School - Etiwanda, California
• Westview Middle School - Longmont, Colorado
• Michael Wallace Middle School - Waterbury, Connecticut
• Saint John the Beloved School - Wilmington, Delaware
• Maret School - Washington, District of Columbia
• Saint Thomas Aquinas High School - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Learning Tree Elementary School - Dalton, Georgia
• Harvest Christian Academy - Barrigada, Guam
• Kalani High School - Honolulu, Hawaii
• Capital High School - Boise, Idaho
• Oak Lawn Community High School - Oak Lawn, Illinois
• Manchester Junior Senior High School - North Manchester, Indiana
• Sacred Heart School - West Des Moines, Iowa
• Cheney Middle School - Cheney, Kansas
• Boyle County High School - Danville, Kentucky
• Hahnville High School - Boutte, Louisiana
• Gray - New Gloucester Middle School - Gray, Maine
• Saint Mary's Ryken High School - Leonardtown, Maryland
• Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School - Fall River, Massachusetts
• Mayville High School - Mayville, Michigan
• Luverne High School - Luverne, Minnesota
• Jackson Academy - Jackson, Mississippi
• Hartville Middle School - Hartville, Missouri
• Lincoln County High School - Eureka, Montana
• Marian High School - Omaha, Nebraska
• Sig Rogich Middle School - Las Vegas, Nevada
• Pelham Memorial School - Pelham, New Hampshire
• Saint Benedict's Preparatory School - Newark, New Jersey
• Eunice High School - Eunice, New Mexico
• The Ursuline School - New Rochelle, New York
• Morehead City Middle School - Morehead City, North Carolina
• Mott Regent School - Mott, North Dakota
• Walnut Hills High School - Cincinnati, Ohio
• Owasso High School - Owasso, Oklahoma
• Marist Catholic High School - Eugene, Oregon
• DuBois Area High School - DuBois, Pennsylvania
• Classical High School - Providence, Rhode Island
• Catawba Ridge High School - Fort Mill, South Carolina
• Redfield School - Redfield, South Dakota
• Coulter Grove Intermediate School - Maryville, Tennessee
• Arp High School - Arp, Texas
• Judge Memorial Catholic High School - Salt Lake City, Utah
• Enosburg Falls Middle High School - Enosburg Falls, Vermont
• St. Anne's - Belfield School - Charlottesville, Virginia
• Alki Middle School - Vancouver, Washington
• Scott High School - Madison, West Virginia
• De Soto Middle High School - De Soto, Wisconsin
• Lyman Intermediate School - Lyman, Wyoming

The Canadian Provincial Winners are:

• Ecole Secondaire Sainte Marguerite D'youville - St. Albert, Alberta
• Notre Dame Regional Secondary School - Vancouver, British Columbia
• École régionale Notre Dame - Notre-Dame-De-Lourdes, Manitoba
• Halifax Christian Academy - Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Princess Elizabeth School - Welland, Ontario
• Ecole Internationale Lucille-Teasdale - Brossard, Quebec
• Miller Comprehensive High School - Regina, Saskatchewan

This season of the Vocabulary Bowl also witnessed the rise of impressive newcomers who showed exceptional dedication to mastering words. These standout participants were honored as Top Rookie Schools.

The Top Rookie Schools are:

• Arp High School  - Arp, Texas
• Morehead City Middle School - Morehead City, North Carolina
• McGee's Crossroads Middle School - Benson, North Carolina
• Spanish River Community High School - Boca Raton, Florida
• Oak Lawn Community High School - Oak Lawn, Illinois

Additionally, the Vocabulary Bowl recognized Top Teachers who motivated their students to earn the most points.

Top High School Teachers:

• Misty Tabon, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School  - Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Anjee Deards, Arp High School - Arp, Texas
• Ryan Price, Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy - Vacaville, California
• Shawndi Hanson, Mayville High School - Mayville, Michigan
• Linda Rankus, DuBois Area High School - DuBois, Pennsylvania
• Suzanne Carter, Etiwanda High School - Etiwanda, California
• Debbie Dolan, Sneads High School - Sneads, Florida
• Nadja Fitchhorn, Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy - Vacaville, California
• Cari Echols, Etiwanda High School - Etiwanda, California
• Nancy Spain, Arp High School - Arp, Texas

Top Middle and Elementary School Teachers:

• Amanda La Roche, Sig Rogich Middle School - Las Vegas, Nevada
• Leslie Green, John F Kennedy Middle School - Bethpage, New York
• Niki Knowlton, Learning Tree Elementary School - Dalton, Georgia
• Dean Arnold, McAuliffe Middle School - Los Alamitos, California
• Heidi Barnett, McAuliffe Middle School - Los Alamitos, California
• Keri Ravelo, McAuliffe Middle School - Los Alamitos, California
•  Angela Kohn, Muscatel Middle School - Rosemead, California
• Elizabeth Lippincott, McGee's Crossroads Middle School - Benson, North Carolina
• Brooke Valenzuela, Alta Sierra Intermediate School - Clovis, California
• Jenny Rovira, Ladera Vista Junior High School - Fullerton, California

Top Rookie Teachers:

• Anjee Deards, Arp High School - Arp, Texas
• Amanda La Roche, Sig Rogich Middle School - Las Vegas, Nevada
• Niki Knowlton, Learning Tree Elementary School - Dalton, Georgia
• Dean Arnold, McAuliffe Middle School - Los Alamitos, California
• Heidi Barnett, McAuliffe Middle School - Los Alamitos, California

"Congratulations to the spring champions of the 2024 Vocabulary Bowl! Mastering hundreds, even thousands of words is a remarkable achievement that showcases the incredible dedication of educators and students," said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning, Vocabulary.com's parent company. "We are excited to continue supporting schools as they inspire learners to build their knowledge."

Looking ahead
The Vocabulary Bowl's Fall 2024 season kicks off on October 1. Similar to the Spring 2024 season, individual teachers who motivate their students to master the most words will be awarded prizes. Additionally, Rookie awards will honor schools and teachers new to the competition. Regardless of your school's size, grade levels, or familiarity with the competition, there is a tier for you.

The competition is open to all accredited K-12 schools in the United States and Canada. Any qualifying school with an active license will be automatically registered when the Vocabulary Bowl season starts. Schools and individual teachers can purchase a license to automatically register at any time during the contest period. Students enrolled in classes simply sign in to Vocabulary.com and master as many words as they can through learning activities on the website. There is no limit to the number of words that they can master or the amount of time that they can play.

How schools use the Vocabulary Bowl to build literacy skills
Vocabulary.com uses adaptive technology that tailors literacy instruction to students' unique needs. The Vocabulary Bowl gives educators a fun opportunity to personalize instruction, boost literacy skills, and inject competitive spirit into education. With every activity, students gain points and achievements so that they can level up in the rankings while building their vocabulary. Teachers have used the Bowl to gamify learning by giving extra credit to classroom point leaders every week, presenting monthly awards to students who master the most words, and posting results in parent newsletters to share their learners' successes.

About Vocabulary.com
Founded in 2010, Vocabulary.com's award-winning platform helps learners systematically improve their vocabulary. Adaptive, individualized and interactive, Vocabulary.com seamlessly integrates with any school curriculum, helping students master the academic vocabulary they'll encounter in literature, textbooks and standardized tests. The Vocabulary.com dictionary teaches more than 17,000 words and provides approachable definitions that makes them more interesting to learn. To date, nearly 4 million learners in 46,000 schools around the world have answered more than 8 billion questions on Vocabulary.com. Vocabulary.com joined the IXL Learning family in 2020.

Press Contact
Joslyn Chesson
IXL Learning
[email protected]

SOURCE IXL Learning