December 12, 2022

28 Schools Registered

The deadline for schools to register to participate in the Poetry Out Loud State of Florida competition is January 20, 2023. You’ve still got time, but why wait? So far, 28 schools have registered! See the list here: 

Alachua County

• Eastside High School, Gainesville
• P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, Gainesville

Broward County

• City of Pembroke Pines Charter High School, Pembroke Pines

Charlotte County

• South Western Florida Collegiate High School, Punta Gorda

Collier County

• Community School of Naples, Naples

Dade County

• Barbara Goleman Senior High, Miami

Duval County

• Bishop Kenny High School, Jacksonville, Duval County
• The Bolles School, Jacksonville

Hernando County

• Nature Coast Technical High School, Brooksville

Hillsborough County

• Academy of The Holy Names, Tampa
• Blake High School, Tampa 
• Cypress Creek High, Wesley Chapel
• Odessa Christian School, Odessa

Lake County

• Hope Preparatory Academy, Groveland

Leon County

• Leon High School, Tallahassee

Madison County

• Madison County High School, Madison

Orange County

• The First Academy, Orlando
• Winter Park High School, Winter Park

Pasco County

• Cypress Creek High School, Wesley Chapel

Pinellas County 

• Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
• Osceola High School, Seminole

Polk County

• Winter Haven High School, Winter Haven

Santa Rosa County

• Pace High School, Pace

Sarasota County 

• NewGate Montessori IB School, Sarasota
• Pine View High School, Osprey

Seminole County

• Seminole High School, Sanford

St. Johns County

• Creekside High School, St. Johns

Volusia County 

• Pine Ridge High School, Deltona

POL PR Tips for Schools/Organizations

As we're gearing up even more into POL competition season, remember to share the promotional ideas that are included in the POL PR Toolkit with schools and organizations in your state. A few are included below: 



• Post notices announcing the competition and champions at your school/organization and/or on your website, newsletter, student newspaper, or social media pages. Use the Poetry Out Loud logo to celebrate your involvement.

• Announce classroom winners and the school-wide competition in the daily PA broadcast, or on the school's YouTube channel.

• "Live Tweet" a Poetry Out Loud contest or share photos on Instagram. Remember to use the #POL23 or #IAmPoetryOutLoud hashtags.

• Arrange for a class to watch online or attend your region or state Poetry Out Loud competition.

• After the event, send the local newspaper a follow-up press release highlighting the contest, your involvement in Poetry Out Loud, and photos from your event or photos of your local champions. 



• Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Use the letter to showcase your school or organization’s participation in Poetry Out Loud, and to discuss the benefits of taking part in a national program like this.

New to POL? View the Information Session

We had the pleasure of hosting an information session on Friday, October 21 for educators interested in participating in Florida Poetry Out Loud for the 2023 competition. Thank you to those that joined us. We recorded the session for you, and you can check it out here. 

During our conversation we discussed all of the poem options for your students. Here is the Master POL Anthology with all the eligible poems for the 2022-23 school year. 

Teacher Resources

There is a collection of resources for our teachers. A great resource is the Poetry Out Loud website; inclusive of the Teacher's Guide (linked below).

Specific information to the State of Florida Poetry Out Loud program can be accessed here.



Download the Teacher’s Guide here.

Poetry Out Loud Gets Original is Back!

We are excited to announce we will be hosting a virtual 2023 Florida Poetry Out Loud Gets Original (POLGO) on March 17, 2023 from 6 - 8 pm. POLGO is a complementary competition which invites students to submit original poetry. Students who participate in the state of Florida POL programming and competitions this year are also invited to create and submit their own original poetry for the potential to be included in an anthology that will be published and disseminated to participants.

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus is partnering on the POLGO competition with Keep St. Pete Lit, a non-profit organization that celebrates and promotes greater St. Petersburg’s literary community through arts, education and events. Any high school student is eligible to participate in POLGO. Students whose poems are selected for publication will be notified and those students will also be invited to participate in a virtual open microphone competition to read their original poems where winners will receive cash prizes from $200 to $50 for both content and performance.

Submission Guidelines:

• Original poetry may be on any topic and has a 300 word maximum 
• 1-3 poems
• Single spaced
• Poems can be no more than a page and a half
• 12pt font

Deadline for submissions: February 1, 2023

APPLY HERE for the 2023 Florida POLGO Competition

Poetry Out Loud Mobile App

Poetry Out Loud has a free app! With this app, students can easily find, save, and practice poems for the competition on their phones or tablets. Many thanks to our wonderful partners at the Poetry Foundation.

Available for download:

App Store (iOS)

Google Play Store (Android)

KEY DATES

October 21, 2022

Information Sessions

Friday, January 20, 2023

Deadline to register school

Friday, February 1, 2023

Poetry Out Loud Gets Original submission deadline

Friday, February 17, 2023

State finalist's registration due

Saturday, March 11, 2023

State Final to be hosted at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus

Friday, March 17, 2023

Poetry Out Loud Gets Original virtual state competition

May 8 - 10, 2023

Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, DC