Freshman Alyssa Moncure’s recitation of “Caged Bird”  by Maya Angelou flew her to first place at the South Regional Poetry Out Loud competition Feb. 16, according to English teacher Shawn Watts.  Her win at this competition captured her a spot at the state competition March 14 in Jefferson City, Mo.

All 10 regional champions will meet and perform here to decide the state champion.   That person will then move on to the national competition in Washington, D.C.  Each winner at the state level receives $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip with an adult chaperone to Washington, D.C. to compete for the national championship. In addition, the state winner’s school receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.

According to the Poetry Out Loud website, this program was instituted nationally in 2006 and had over 360,000 participants last year.