PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Young spellers in Lincoln might still have a chance to show off their skills after the school district decided to reconsider canceling the spelling bee, which was cut in part so that losing contestants wouldn’t feel badly.

Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson said Friday that the decision to reconsider will give administrators and school principals a chance to review the pros and cons of having a spelling bee.

Last January, the district’s elementary school principals and Assistant Superintendent Linda Newman unanimously decided to cut the bee, which was held for children in grades 4-8.

They said they wanted to spare children in younger grades from feeling left out. They also worried that district couldn’t afford to spend time, money and energy on the bee when meeting federal and state mandates required so much attention. 2 “You can’t focus all of your energy on test scores, but you also need to focus resources on things that keep a school from failing,” said Tindall-Gibson, who was not superintendent when the decision to drop the spelling bee was made. “My job is to make sure schools aren’t dull and dreary places. These sorts of competitions can be motivational and exciting for students, so that’s something we will have to consider.”

Tindall-Gibson said he received one call this week from a concerned parent and two from school committee members after the decision to cut the bee became public. But he said his decision to reconsider was not based on those calls.

“We have so many new administrators and school members, they should have the opportunity to have a say,” he said.

Mary Carvalho, principal at Lonsdale Elementary, was among those who agreed to cut the spelling bee, though she said she has hosted the bee before and enjoys it. She said the decision was based on research discouraging competition at lower grade levels and standards that say, “all children should be given the same opportunities.”

She said administrators and teachers are always changing what tools they use in order to meet federal and state standards and the needs of students.

“The same-old same-old is not a good thing,” she said. “But, I’m happy with the superintendent’s decision to look at the bee again.”

Tindall-Gibson said bees require several months of preparation and man-hours to pull together, but “if participating in a bee provides an educational benefit, then you may see students from Lincoln on stage after all.”

The superintendent was scheduled to meet with administrators on Feb. 7.

AP-ES-01-28-05 1731EST