Three students from Northwest Missouri including Alex Hall, home school, Max Schieber, Bishop LeBlond High School and Alden Willdermood from Lathrop R-II competed in the 2015 Poetry Out Loud Northwest Regional Finals hosted by the Allied Arts Council on February 11, 2015.
Homeschooler Alex Hall from St. Joseph was the regional champion, and the first runner-up was Alden Willdermood from Lathrop R-II. Hall will advance to the state finals March 12, 2015 in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Judges Cathy Ketter, Jolene Dempster, David George and Cheryl Wood presided over the competition and evaluated student performance on criteria including physical presence, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy.
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure. Beginning at the school level, winners advance to a regional competition, then to a state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals in Washington, DC.
The competition was presented by the Allied Arts Council in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, the Missouri Arts Council and Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies.