Each spring, the WITF Central PA Spelling Bee invites 6th to 8th grade students from 10 surrounding counties to demonstrate their spelling knowledge as they attempt to make their way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Interested schools register with Scripps in the fall and then conduct their own qualifying Spelling Bee at their school. Winners from each of the participating schools compete in a 100 word written test held at the WITF Public Media Center. The top spellers participate in an oral championship spell down, which is then broadcast on WITF-TV. The winner from that bee qualifies to compete nationally in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.