The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture has announced the winners of the regional Poetry Out Loud Competition.
Josie Allen was crowned champion and Isabella Melsheimer was named runner-up. Both are students at Orcutt Academy High School. Allen and Melsheimer competed against 15 students representing five high schools.
Each participating school held individual competitions before sending their top three placeholders to compete at the county level. Allen received an all-expense-paid trip to compete at the state finals held on March 18 in Sacramento. State finalists will receive funding to participate at the national competition in Washington, D.C., on April 25.
Fourth District County Supervisor Peter Adam will recognize Allen, Melsheimer, and Orcutt Academy High School with a resolution during a Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for April 10 in Santa Maria at the Betteravia Government Center.
The Poetry Out Loud competition, presented in partnership with the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy. Teachers introduced poetry recitation in the classroom using free, standards-based curriculum materials. Over the past 11 years, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 3 million students and 45,000 teachers from 10,000 schools nationwide.
This article appears in Apr 5-12, 2018.