ONEONTA — Twenty-three local school districts, the Oneonta Christian School and an organization of home schoolers have signed up for the inaugural Daily Star Spelling Bee.

The regional contest is open to all schools in Otsego, Delaware and Chenango counties, according to Daniel Swift, publisher of The Daily Star.

Schools must hold a local bee in January to select a student from sixth, seventh or eighth grade to represent the school in The Daily Star bee. The regional spell-off is planned for March, with the winner going to Washington, D.C., to participate in the finals of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.

Otsego County schools electing to participate are Cooperstown, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, Laurens, Milford, Morris, Oneonta, Unatego and Worcester.

Delaware County participants are Charlotte Valley, Delhi-Delaware Academy, Downsville, Franklin, Hancock, Margaretville, Roxbury, Sidney, Stamford and Walton.

Chenango County schools participating are Afton, Bainbridge, Norwich, Oxford and Otselic Valley.

Parents should check with their local school for information about participation. Home school parents can have their middle-school-age children participate in a separate qualifying bee. Information about that program is available from AnnMarie Rozelle at 967-4621 or rozfam6@yahoo.com.

The regional spell-off will be held March 1 at the Goodrich Theater on the State University College at Oneonta campus.

"I am so pleased to have the College at Oneonta become a partner with us in this program," Swift said. "They're obviously dedicated to academic excellence, so it's a nice fit for this program, which seeks to stimulate and reward top achievers."

Coordination of the program with the local schools is through Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES and Otsego Northern Catskill BOCES.

"Superintendents Alan Pole and Marie Warchol have been instrumental in getting this program off the ground," Swift said. "Starting and running a program of this size would be impossible without their help."

Maureen McGuire, DCMO BOCES coordinator of planning and development, spearheaded the work with local schools, Swift added. Other school districts can still become involved, Swift said, but they need to contact their local BOCES superintendent or McGuire soon to get instructions for running their local bee.

The 2003 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is the 76th annual event for the spelling competition, making it the longest-running educational promotion. Local contests require a newspaper sponsor to affiliate with the national program. The Daily Star is one of more than 230 newspapers across the country to work with the Scripps Howard bee to crown a national spelling champion. The 2003 National Spelling Bee will be held May 28-29. In past years it has been televised on ESPN.