HISTORY OF THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
SPELLING BEE T
he Washington Informer’s first year of sponsorship of the D.C. Wide Spelling Bee took place during the 1981-82 school years. The late Dr. Mary E. White, supervising director, D.C. Public Schools Division of Instructional Services, Department of English, wanted D.C. Public Schools students to have the opportunity to participate in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. Scripps-Howard, the National Spelling Bee sponsor was willing to include the District of Columbia in the national competition, but the rules required that only daily newspapers could sponsor local competitions. Many years prior, The Washington Daily News, a daily tabloid, sponsored the local spelling bee. Subsequently, The Washington Star purchased the Daily News, and ceased sponsorship of the spelling bee. Thus, for more than 14 years, District of Columbia public, private and parochial school children could not participate in the national competition for lack of a sponsoring newspaper. Dr. White solicited support from The Washington Post, hopeful that the publisher would agree to become the District’s official sponsor. According to Dr. White, Post officials told her that since the daily newspaper was a regional publication; their sponsorship would have to include not only the District of Columbia, but suburban Maryland and Virginia, as well. However, at that time, the Journal newspaper chain had served as the suburban sponsor for several years, resulting in the Post’s refusal to sponsor the bee solely for students enrolled in District schools. Dr. White then appealed to Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, a friend and supporter of the D.C. Public Schools, who was president and founder of the United Black Fund, Inc. and publisher of The Washington Informer newspaper. It was Dr. White’s hope that Dr. Rolark would exercise his influence over the Post officials and persuade them to agree to sponsor the spelling bee. However, as publisher of a weekly newspaper, which served more than 25,000 readers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, Dr. Rolark volunteered his publication to serve as a sponsor. With that, he brought in his daughter, Denise Rolark, managing editor of The Washington Informer, to assist in coordinating the District’s first spelling bee along with Dr. White and other D.C. Public School officials. The first city-wide spelling bee was held at Backus Junior High School in March 1982.The winner was a sixth grade student, John Krattenmaker, who attended Mann Elementary School. Krattenmaker was not permitted to participate in the Scripps Howard National Spelling
Photos from the WI Archives
Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes prepares for NBC4 interview following the spelling bee with D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman. Dr. Ackerman is now superintendent of the Philadelphia Public Schools.
See BEE on Page S-3 Ashley White gets a big hug from her mother following her successful bid as D.C. spelling bee champion. Last May, Ashley received her undergraduate degree from Howard University.
It was Dr. White’s hope that Dr. Rolark would exercise his influence over the Post officials and persuade them to agree to sponsor the spelling bee. However, as publisher of a weekly newspaper, which served more than 25,000 readers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, Dr. Rolark volunteered his publication to serve as a sponsor. S-2
March 29, 2012
30TH ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT