California Poets in the Schools (CalPoets) announces Mendocino county’s 2026 Poetry Out Loud champion Abigail Reis, a Sophomore at Fort Bragg High School.
Abigail Ries was selected from a qualified pool of applicants by a panel of judges on February 9, 2026. The judging panel included distinguished poets and teachers from throughout the county. Besides poetry and writing, Abigail is passionate about community service and sports, and she aspires to a career in a field that helps others thrive.
Mendocino County’s Poetry Out Loud 2026 was extremely competitive, with applicants from schools across Mendocino County. Finalists in the contest were Irie Wagar and Athena Marino, both students at Ukiah High School. Both of these young poets recited with great skill and understanding, and the judges wanted to make sure they were mentioned to the public as well.
Abigail describes herself asvery involved in school. She also does a lot of community service work through the Interact Club and her local church. She says, “I have worked with people from various parts of the United States, far less fortunate than I, and have come to a realization that I want to pursue a career in social work or health. I am a competitive swimmer and have been swimming for the past 8 years. I am also a cheerleader and love playing sports. I enjoy many subjects in school including math and science as well as English. I have a real passion for writing and journaling.”
Abigail will be competing with other county champions across the state at the California Poetry Out Loud finals in Sacramento. at the State Capital building on March 8 and 9; the California winner will advance to the National Finals in Washington DC on April 27-29.
About California Poets in the Schools
California Poets in the Schools, a non-profit founded in 1964, is one of the nation’s largest literary Artists-in-the-Schools programs. Over one hundred trained, professional Poet-Teachers deliver poetry sessions throughout California to students in K-12 classrooms and a variety of other venues, such as children’s homes, juvenile halls and hospitals. Students are empowered to express their creativity, imagination, and intellectual curiosity through writing, performing and publishing their own poetry.
Since its founding in 1964, CalPoets has inspired over one million students in sixty thousand classrooms to create six million poems. Many of the young people reached through our programs are low-income, rural or second language learners. Student poetry is published in an annual, juried statewide anthology. High-school students from many counties are coached by our Poet-Teachers to compete in tiered Poetry Out Loud competitions from the classroom to the national level. Poet-Teachers gather at yearly symposia for ongoing professional development and community building.
For immediate information, please contact:
Blake More, Mendocino County Area Coordinator
California Poets in the Schools
blake@arenatechcenter.org
Mpits.mcn.org
