Good luck to my students Zaila Avant-garde and Dean Alkhairy who’ve qualified for the Top 7 in the Championship Finals of tonight’s national Mission Spelling Bee! The Finals begin tonight at 6pm CST and will be streamed live on YouTube.

Dean Alkhairy competes in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. (Mark Bowen / Scripps National Spelling Bee)

Zaila Avant-garde competes in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. (@Basketballasart / Twitter)