California Poets in the Schools

California Poets in the Schools currently serves an active network of 100+ California poets and writers, who live and work in nearly all regions of the state. Poet-Teachers teach poetry at institutions of all types including elementary, middle and high schools, as well as state prisons, juvenile jails and universities. These poets have chosen to give back to their local communities as professionally-trained Poet-Teachers with California Poets in the Schools.In addition to active Poet-Teachers, our network includes over 500 California poets and writers who engage as participants in the various networking, professional development and creative opportunities that CalPoets offers throughout the year.Calpoets offers a professional network for poets and writers that is open, inclusive and approachable. We provide a wide variety of events annually, including professional development, networking and creative opportunities. We host a beloved and well-attended poetry symposium each year where we engage our network in over 20 hours of skill-building and creative poetry-related workshops led by California poets.We hosted over 20 free, virtual monthly gatherings in 2022. Specifically, each 2nd Tuesday we offer relevant professional development, roundtable discussions and panels on Zoom. We host quarterly regional coordinator networking opportunities, a weekly free-write group, and our quarterly Open Mic Series - where we spotlight two featured readers from our network to launch the event.Fifteen "regional coordinators" take on leadership of the CalPoets' program at the local level. CalPoets offers unrestricted grants to regional coordinators up to $2,000 annually. In addition, we offer technology grants to regional coordinators in order to offset costs of bringing local programs online.All new Poet-Teachers are paired with a seasoned mentor for at least a year as they participate in a training to officially become a CalPoets' Poet-Teacher. The mentorship consists of 365 degree observations, lesson planning and one-on-one consultations. These mentorships often extend organically into ongoing professional relationships that span decades. We offer "special projects" grants to up to 15 Poet-Teachers annually, in order to foster innovation in local programs. In addition Poet-Teachers can apply for "insurance grants" in order to cover the costs of professional liability insurance.CalPoets cultivates relationships with school districts, foundations and arts organizations which can fund and support our members professional practices. Annually, our nonprofit achieves an estimated $150,000 in grants that directly fund up to 40 Poet-Teachers' artistic, school-based residencies at the local level. Dozens more rely upon their professional affiliation with CalPoets' to secure their own funding from local schools and institutions.