Gatton Academy among 21 Kentucky High Schools Selected for “Poetry Out Loud”

[fblike]

The Kentucky Arts Council has selected 21 high schools to participate in the state competition for the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. This is the seventh year of the program, which encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.

The selected schools are:

School	City	County
Allen Co./Scottsville High School	Scottsville	Allen
Ballard High School	Louisville	Jefferson
Beechwood High School	Ft Mitchell	Kenton
Boyd Co. High School	Ashland	Boyd
Carroll Co. High School	Carrollton	Carroll
Fairview High School	Ashland	Boyd
Franklin Co. High School	Frankfort	Franklin
Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky	Bowling Green	Warren
Grant Co. High School	Dry Ridge	Grant
Greenwood High School	Bowling Green	Warren
Harlan Co. High School	Baxter	Harlan
Hart Co. High School	Munfordville	Hart
Hazard High School	Hazard	Perry
Heath High School	West Paducah	McCracken
Leslie Co. High School	Hyden	Leslie
Lone Oak High School	Paducah	McCracken
Mercer Co. High School	Harrodsburg	Mercer
Ohio Co. High School	Hartford	Ohio
Reidland High School	Paducah	McCracken
Russell Co. High School	Russell Springs	Russell
Western Hills High School	Frankfort	Franklin

Poetry Out Loud begins at the classroom level. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to the state competition and ultimately to the national finals. Last year, more than 300,000 students participated in the Poetry Out Loud program in 50 states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The winner of the Kentucky state finals, to be held in March 2012 in Frankfort, will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. The first runner-up will receive $100, with $200 going to his or her school library. The program culminates with the national finals in Washington, D.C., May 13–15, 2012. A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be awarded at the national finals.

“We are very pleased to be able to continue this program. Our Kentucky champions have been finalists in the national competition in five of the six years of Poetry Out Loud,” said Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council. “Maybe the 2012 national champion will be a student from one of these 21 Kentucky schools.”

For additional information about Poetry Out Loud in Kentucky, contact Rachel Allen at rachel.allen@ky.gov or 502-564-3757, ext. 486. For a general overview of the Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest, go towww.poetryoutloud.org.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Kentucky, Kentucky Arts Council, Poetry Out Loud, STEAM