2025-26 School Registration

Poetry Out Loud® lifts poetry off the page, creating community and connection. Through this program, high school students across the country participate in a dynamic poetry recitation competition that is designed to improve their public speaking skills, help build confidence, and teach them about literary history and contemporary life. A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud® provides free lesson plans and other educational materials to teachers and organizers, including an online anthology of 1,200 classic and contemporary poems. 

The program starts at the local level with a school or participating organization. Winners then may advance to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the national finals. Awards and placements are determined solely by judges’ scores based on the Poetry Out Loud Evaluation Criteria. Poetry Out Loud takes place in all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.4 million students and 81,000 teachers from 20,000 schools across the U.S. have participated in Poetry Out Loud.

Rules & Eligibility
Only schools and organizations registered with their state Poetry Out Loud coordinator are eligible for the official competition.

Student Eligibility
Grade Level: Only currently enrolled students in grades 9-12 are eligible, with an exception made for 8th-grade students participating in a 9th- through 12th-grade class.
State Finals: A student may not advance to the state finals without competing in a lower-level competition.
Legal Participation Requirements: No student may be excluded from participating in Poetry Out Loud on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin. Schools may determine eligibility for classroom and school level Poetry Out Loud programming pursuant to local and state law.

 

Full Eligibility Rules at: 

 

Key Dates:

Friday, November 28, 2025:
POL School Registration Deadline

Friday, January 30, 2026:
Last day for Schools to complete local POL competition.
(local POL competiton may be completed anytime until this date)

Monday, February 2, 2026:
School Champion Form sent to NDCA
(let us know your school POL Champion!)

Monday, February 23, 2026:
North Dakota State Poetry Out Loud Championship at the Heritage Center in Bismarck

 

POL Teacher(s) grade level

Please enter the LEAD POL Teacher Information first. Then add other participating teachers, grade levels, and number of students. 

POL AGREEMENT

EXPECTATIONS OF SCHOOL:

• Incorporate poetry recitation into English/Language Arts curriculum (at teacher’s discretion).
• Use provided POL teacher stipend to support implementation of POL in classroom(s) and school-level POL competition.
• Hold classroom/school competitions by Friday, January 30, 2026, to determine school champion.
• Ensure school champion registers for State POL Competition by Monday, February 2, 2026. (Guidelines and School Champion Registration Form provided upon registration.)
• Ensure school champion attends and participates in the 2026 State POL Competition at the ND State Heritage Center, Monday, February 28, 2026.
• If selected state champion, ensure student attends the National POL Competition in Washington DC, Monday - Wednesday, April 27-29 , 2026.
• Communicate effectively and in a timely manner with POL Coordinator.
• Complete Final Report by March 15, 2026, and email to mabanderson@nd.gov.

EXPECTATIONS OF NDCA (subject to availabale funding):

• Provide free curriculum materials to teachers, including teacher’s guide and poetry anthologies (upon request).
• Provide a stipend of $150 to each participating school/lead teacher to cover any costs related to implementing POL in their classroom(s) and school-level competition.
• Provide travel stipend to each school residing outside the Bismarck/Mandan metropolitan area to support travel to ND State POL Competition.
• Present certificate of participation to each school champion who registers and participates in the state competition.
• Present traveling trophy to state winner to be displayed in his/her school for one year.

POL Nationals Award Information

• State Champion receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The State Champion's representing school or organization receives $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. The first runner-up in each state receives $100, with $200 for their school.
• At the National Finals, a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends is awarded annually, including a $20,000 award for the National Champion, $10,000 for 2nd place, $5,000 for 3rd place, and $1,000 for 4th-9th places. The representing schools or organizations of the top 9 finalists receive $500 for the purchase of poetry materials. There will be one honorable mention recipient in each of the three national semifinals competitions. Those students will not advance to the finals, but will receive a $1,000 cash award and a $500 school/organizational stipend.