Editorial: Nevada’s vocabulary champ

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 | 7:25 a.m.

Nevadans are rooting for the UNLV Rebels during March Madness, but we hope they also mark May 14-15 on their calendars to root for a local academic standout.

During those two days, 13-year-old John Ling, a student at Las Vegas' Hyde Park Middle School, will be in Orlando, Fla., also competing for a national title.

On Monday, Ling won the Nevada State Championship in the fifth annual Reader's Digest Word Power Challenge. The Word Power competition is similar to a spelling bee, with the twist that it requires students to demonstrate how well they understand the meaning of words.

In Orlando, Ling will be competing against the other 49 state winners not only for the honor of becoming Word Power national champion, but also for $50,000 in college scholarships.

Ling, who began reading at age 3, is adding to the academic tradition at Hyde Park. Over the years this school has gained recognition for the performance of its students in the National Science Foundation's student inventors competition.

We congratulate Ling, and also Hyde Park Middle School for creating an academic environment that motivates its students to such accomplishments.