Deadline nearing for 24/25 Poetry Out Loud in S.C.
SCAC offers in-school, individual student participation
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Friday, December 13 20, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET
The deadline for South Carolina students to compete in Poetry Out Loud in the 2024/2025 schoolyear is nearing.
As it celebrates 20 years, Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry—recitation and performance and helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence as they learn about literary history and contemporary life. They choose from an extensive library of poetry to memorize and recite in competition with other students, with the goal of advancing to state finals competitions. State winners advance to the national finals, held each spring in Washington!
The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation present Poetry Out Loud with the help of statewide arts partners like the SCAC in all 50 states, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The SCAC is proud to join these national partners annually to bring Poetry Out Loud to South Carolina high school students.
Two tracks. One competition.
The SCAC is excited to offer two options to South Carolina students in grades 9-12 to best serve as many students as possible:
- School/organization registration (for schools or organizations and their students, in-person competitions).
- Individual student registration (a live virtual competition) for those whose school/organization is not participating or are homeschooled.
School or organization track
All types of high schools are welcome to participate—public, private, parochial, independent, charter, etc.— and all students in grades 9-12 are eligible for participation and advancement in this program. In 8th grade? Those students who are enrolled in a high school English course are eligible to compete.
Schools must register with the SCAC in order to participate in the official state competition.
What’s involved?
- Participating schools or organizations are encouraged to identify 1-3 teachers or leaders with one POL program coordinator to manage school or organization finals, or act as the single point of contact for the school or organization’s POL leaders.
- Each school or organization’s program must host a school/organization competition with one (1) winner to advance to the POL South Carolina State Final.
The NEA and the Poetry Foundation provide all program materials (teacher’s guide, poetry anthology, CDs, posters) for distribution to participating schools.
Individual student track
Registration is still required for this track.
- Individual students may register for the Individual Virtual Competition if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The school the student attends is not a participating/registered POL school.
- The student is homeschooled.
- The Individual Virtual Competition will take place on Zoom. A schedule of recitations and Zoom link will be provided one week prior to the competition.
- Students participating in virtually will need access to a computer or device with video conferencing capabilities and reliable internet.
- The four (4) top scoring students in the Individual Virtual Competition will advance to the POL South Carolina State Final.
Mark your calendars! The state finals will be held March 8, 2025 in Columbia.
Interested? Of course you are. Visit the SCAC’s Poetry Out Loud page for a host of helpful information: registration links, resources for teachers and tips for students, an FAQ section, and much more!
Register by Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 for this year’s competition.
Ed. note: Program staff at the SCAC extended this deadline as of Dec. 16. A previous version of this post carried the initial deadline.