Contra Costa County Office of Education

Registration is for this program is free. Once registered, students will be contacted by the county's Poetry Out Loud coordinator who will work with them to be sure they have a smooth journey to the Contra Costa County competition.

 

Contact: Brennan DeFrisco, Poetry Out Loud Coordinator
Phone: (925) 984-4031

 

 

National Champion Wins a grand prize of $20,000

 

The Poetry Out Loud program is a free national arts education program and poetry recitation competition made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and the California Arts Council, The program is for high school students and begins in the classroom. School-level recitation champions compete to advance to the regional, state and then national levels. With Poetry Out Loud, students have the opportunity to interact with the words of the masters of the art through recitation, while also presenting their own creative techniques of delivery.

California proudly boasts the largest Poetry Out Loud competition in the country, growing steadily since its start in 2005.

CCCOE, in partnership with Contra Costa County, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, hosted a Poetry Out Loud regional competition on Saturday, February 10, 2024.    

 

Congratulations to the 2024 Poetry Out Loud Winner and Runner-Up:

Ariana Salvador, a senior at Pinole Valley High School, is Contra Costa County’s 2024 Poetry Out Loud winner. With dramatic and expressive recitations of poems by Tanaya Winder and Roisin Kelly, Salvador became the county champion.

Second place was awarded to Brooke Sanders, a senior at San Ramon Valley High School. Runner-up Sanders received a $100 scholarship.

Read press release about Poetry Out Loud.