Education

The Scripps National Spelling Bee bee-gins its 95th competition on Tuesday.

What's happening: More than 200 contestants will compete for the title over three days in National Harbor, Maryland.

How do you one-up your valedictorian older brother? Jacob Delikat did it by becoming valedictorian and setting a school record with a 10.12 GPA.

• Meanwhile, Tyler Hale competed with only himself — graduating high school at 15 years old.

The Hillsborough County School Board gave final approval to a plan Tuesday that would shutter West Tampa's Just Elementary School, where nearly 83% of students are Black.

Why it matters: Parents, educators and community leaders pleaded with the board to reconsider the decision, warning that the district's move to close the elementary school will unnecessarily disrupt students' lives.

A University of South Florida professor is integrating artificial intelligence into training for future teachers.

Driving the news: Sanghoon Park, an associate professor in the College of Education, just wrapped up his first semester teaching a course that uses a chatbot he developed to check in on students and keep them motivated.

Kathleen Doermer put off finishing college for a few years when she got married and had kids. But a few years suddenly turned into more than 50.

What's happening: At 74, Doermer is the oldest student graduating from the University of South Florida this spring — one of 7,100 students getting degrees Friday through Sunday.