Regional Competition

9 school districts across the northern tier of Pennsylvania competed in the Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition held at the Dunn Center for Performing Arts in Towanda, PA on Friday January 17th, 2020. Students from school districts in Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Sullivan, and Tioga counties participated. State Representative Tina Pickett and Legislative Aide Janenne Goliash of Senator Gene Yaw’s office honored us with their presence at the competition and assisted with handing out awards to the students. We were also fortunate to have Gayle Cluck, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Poetry Out Loud Manager, join us. Chloe Greene a senior at Bloomsburg Christian School took first runner up, and Oam Patel a junior at Williamsport Area High School was the Regional Competition champion.

State Competition

Nationwide students compete in Regional Competitions for the opportunity to advance to the State Finals. One student from each of the 14 partner regions in Pennsylvania will advance to the Pennsylvania State Poetry Out Loud Competition. The winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expense trip to Washington, DC with a chaperone to compete in the National Finals. Each state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend to purchase poetry materials. The State Competition will take place March 9th, 2020 at the State Museum in Harrisburg. The winner of the State Finals will advance to the National Competition.

National Competition

The 2019 National Finals will be held April 27th-29th, 2020 in Washington D.C. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be given at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, including a $20,000 award for the National Champion.