Baltimore Youth Opportunity students publish first literary magazine, Revolutionary Words

At Youth Opportunity in Sandtown-Winchester, a new literary magazine turned Dr. Andrea Ferraro’s creative writing class into a public stage for 14 students who wrote about confidence, perseverance, loss and identity. The first issue, Revolutionary Words, opened with poems by twelfth graders Brian and Wil’Nayah and collected work that ranged from plainspoken reflections to pieces built on metaphor and imagery.

The school described the magazine as created by students for students, especially young people who have felt unheard. That mission fit the school’s role in Baltimore City Public Schools’ Re-Engagement Center, which works with returning students and their families or other supports to identify and reduce barriers to success inside and outside the classroom. City Schools says the center helps students who dropped out return to finish their diplomas, and Baltimore City says youth re-engagement services can include school placement, counseling, job readiness programming, academic enrichment and wraparound supports for young people under 21.

Ferraro’s students started with a stream-of-consciousness approach after reading Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, the short story first published in The New Yorker in 1978 and often taught for its shifting, pressure-filled voice. Ferraro pushed students to write honestly about who they are and what they like, and several students said the process gave them relief as well as a voice. Corey’s writing about favorite local foods and festivals tied the magazine back to Baltimore itself, showing students writing from within the city rather than about it from a distance.

Youth Opportunity is listed by City Schools as an alternative placement high school serving grades 9 through 12 at 1500 Harlem Avenue, with school hours from 9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. Federico Adams is listed as the school leader. The school’s profile says its motto is “Because everyone deserves a chance,” a line that matches the purpose of a program built for students who need a more individualized setting than a traditional high school can offer.

The magazine also echoes a wider push across Baltimore City Public Schools to elevate student voice through publishing. CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth, founded in 2013/2014, says it has published more than 1,200 student writers from 50 City Schools and built an editorial board of 20 middle and high school students from across Baltimore. Revolutionary Words now places Youth Opportunity in that same lane, where literacy becomes both an academic exercise and a public claim to being seen.