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National Endowment for the Arts Director of Government Affairs to Attend Poetry Out Loud State Competition on March 14, 2009
by Jaclyn Reynolds
 Anita Decker, government affairs director for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will attend the Ohio Poetry Ohio Loud State Competition on March 14, 2009 at the Matesich Theatre at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. This will be Decker’s first statewide public event in her new role. This is the first appointment to the NEA by the Obama Administration. President Obama sees the arts and arts education as central to a robust American economy and as the embodiment of the American spirit of self-definition.
Born and raised in Chicago and a graduate of the University of Arizona, Decker has spent her career working in Illinois politics. She has managed a variety of congressional and gubernatorial races, and in 2003 she went to work for then State Senator Barack Obama. Most recently, she was the downstate director in President Obama’s Senate office in Springfield, Illinois.
Students from 27 high schools from around Ohio will take part in the 2009 Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest. This exciting event helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. Poetry Out Loud works like a spelling bee with individual schools hosting competitions and picking school champions. These students are eligible to compete in the state finals at 4 p.m. following the preliminary rounds starting at 10:45 a.m.
The winner at the state level will receive $300 and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A runner-up will receive $200, with $200 for his or her school library. A second runner-up will receive $100 and $50 for his or her school library. A total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends will be awarded to the winners at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals held April 26-28 2009 in Washington, D.C. Ohio high school student Jackson Hille won the inaugural National Finals in 2006.
Schools that participate in Poetry Out Loud receive many benefits. Teacher and student workshops are offered to participants and schools can also receive artist visits by Ohio Arts Council poets and writers. In addition, every teacher receives a free toolkit containing a poetry anthology, teacher study guide, CD of student performances and a poster to advertise the contest. Poetry Out Loud brings the dynamic aspects of slam poetry, spoken word and theater into English classes all over Ohio.
Participating schools include:
Garfield High School, Akron; Amanda-Clearcreek High School, Amanda; Chagrin Falls High School, Chagrin Falls; Purcell Marian High School, Shroder High School, Ursuline Academy, Cincinnati; The Lyceum, Cleveland; Cleveland Heights/University Heights High School, Cleveland Heights; Arts and College Preparatory Academy, Bishop Hartley High School, Columbus Alternative High School, Eastmoor Academy, Premier Academy, Columbus; Chaminade-Julienne High School, Dayton; Westland High School, Galloway; Butler Tech’s Option Academy, Hamilton; Logan-Hocking High School, Logan; Madison High School, Madison; Medina High School, Medina; Milford High School, Milford; Reynoldsburg High School, Reynoldsburg; Shaker Heights High School, Shaker Heights; South Webster High School, South Webster; Stow-Munroe Falls High School, Stow; Tallmadge High School, Tallmadge; Upper Arlington High School, Upper Arlington; Westerville South High School, Westerville.
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation are presenting Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest, in partnership with the Ohio Arts Council, the Thurber House and Ohioana Library Association. Poetry Out Loud encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition.
The NEA and the Poetry Foundation have each contributed $500,000 towards the 2009 Poetry Out Loud program in support of materials, grants, prizes and the National Finals in April. Ohio will receive approximately $20,000 from this budget, with matching funds provided by the Ohio Arts Council.
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities and military bases.
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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