Poetry Out Loud

Any school or homeschool group in North Dakota that includes students in grades nine through twelve qualifies for POL. Public, private, alternative, independent, as well as homeschool groups or organizations and school-sponsored afterschool programs, are encouraged to participate.

Poetry Out Loud provides free on-line curriculum materials, including an online poetry anthology, a comprehensive teacher’s guide, videos of student performances, lesson plans, and promotional and media resources at poetryoutloud.org.

After schools register with their state arts agency, teachers are sent an information packet and invited to access the online materials to use within their classrooms. Poetry Out Loud integrates with existing ELA curriculum, does not require full class periods, and can be completed in 2-3 weeks. Following classroom and/or school level competitions, school champions gather at the state Capitol in late February to compete at the North Dakota State Poetry Out Loud Finals Competition. The new ND State POL Champion then moves forward to the national finals which are held in Washington, DC in late April or early May.

2022-23 POL Teacher Resource Guide

While teachers, students, and poetry lovers everywhere can use this website and its free materials to organize their own contests, the official contest is limited to the programs run by each state’s arts agency.

*2022-23 POL SCHEDULE

• November 1, 2022: Deadline for School Registration
• December 15, 2022: Deadline for Poets in Schools Funding Request
• September 2022 – January 2023: Teachers weave POL into curriculum
• February 1, 2023: Deadline for School Competitions to be completed
• February 3, 2023: Deadline for submission of School Champion Registration form
• February 27, 2023: ND State POL Competition, ND State Heritage Center
• May 8-9, 2023: National POL Competition, Washington, DC

*Subject to revision

2022-23 POL Poets in Schools Funding Request Form

To use this form as a fillable document, please follow these steps:

1. Download and SAVE the pdf to your desktop.
2. Add your school to the file name. (example: POL 2022-23 Poets in Schools Funding Request_Sunrise HS)
3. Once saved, open the pdf directly from the desktop location.
4. Complete the form and SAVE all information. 

Available Poets for 2022-23

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) in partnership with Humanities North Dakota offers funding to support poet visits to schools registered in the POL Program. A total of $14,000 is available each school year. These funds are allocated on a first-come first-serve basis. Maximum grant request cannot exceed $2,000.

*DEADLINE TO SUBMIT - December 15, 2022

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS:

• Visits must take place before February 1, 2023.
• A total of $14,000 is available for the 2022-23 school year. These funds will be allocated on a first-come first-serve basis. Total amount of request may not exceed $2,000.
• If your school would like more time with the poet than grant funds allow, you must use alternative funds to compensate according to the fee scale found below.
• Funding requests must be submitted no later than December 15, 2022. Late requests will not be considered.
• Poet visits are defined as a visit (in person or online) from a practicing poet who has agreed to work within the POL Program. Poets may work with small groups to coach students on individual performances and/or explore poetry, deliver assembly style performances to introduce poetry and the POL program to fuel excitement, or a combination of both. See profiles and contact information for the current list of visiting poets.
• The fee scale for poet visits is as follows (negotiable):
  • Fee per one-hour, small group Coaching/Poetry Exploration Session is $350 per session. Maximum of 6 sessions. Small groups may not exceed 35 students.
  • Fee per one-hour Assembly Performances is $600 per assembly. Maximum of 2 performances.
  • Additional costs for poet visits may include (negotiable):
  • Travel at state rate of $.625 per mile.
  • Meals at state rate as needed. (Breakfast - $7.00, Lunch - $10.50, Dinner - $17.50)
  • Lodging as needed per local rate.
• Poets will be paid directly by Humanities North Dakota following the event and upon submission of Final Report to POL Coordinator Rebecca Engelman (rengelman@nd.gov) by lead teacher.