Los Gatos, February 6, 2023: The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) is proud to announce that Los Gatos High School freshmen Sophia Krish, Pravin Balasingam, and Sage Cobb are advancing to the Santa Clara County Poetry Out Loud competition to be held on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Winners from the County competition will compete in the California Poetry Out Loud State Finals in Sacramento, and a chance to compete in the national competition in Washington DC.
Reciting works selected from an anthology of more than 1,200 poems, students were evaluated on criteria, including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy. Judges of this Poetry Out Loud contest included Los Gatos Poet Laureate Jen Siraganian; English Teachers Anne Martyn, Mollie Hicok-Parker, Tonya Dehorn, and Kathleen Wehr; and Los Gatos High School Administrators Kevin Buchanan and Allison Stits.
Poetry Out Loud—presented in partnership with the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and Poetry Foundation—is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. Since the program began in 2005, more than 4.1 million students across the country have participated in Poetry Out Loud.
The California state champion will receive $200 and will advance to the national finals in the spring where $50,000 in awards and school/organizational stipends will be distributed. The first runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for their school or organization.