Welcome to the new website for Writers in Baltimore Schools!

It’s hard to believe that I began working on this redesign about a year ago. In the following months, I slowly worked to make the website more navigable and more reflective of how WBS has expanded since its inception.

And now here we are at long last! I hope you find it easier to learn more about WBS’s mission, vision, and programs and ways to support and get involved.

I first got involved with WBS in fall 2019, when I was a junior in college. I’ll never forget the students I worked with in Writing Club, including one 7th grader with magenta glasses. One morning, at the beginning of the semester, she was struggling to focus. My fellow instructors and I kept repeating the instructions for the lesson, but she was unable to write anything. And so we encouraged her to do a freewrite, to put her feelings to paper. I watched her write “I’m sad” in my notebook and then replace the adjective with “sick,” and then with “fine.” 

Over the course of the semester, however, she began to open up in her writing. Her notebook became a place for her to express herself, to understand her realities and perceptions, to explore her thoughts and feelings.

I hope this website allows you to do some exploration of your own—of all of what WBS has to offer. I hope this website is a testament to the powerful work WBS has done with young writers in schools across the city. And in these trying and uncertain times, I hope this website is a reminder of what young writers are capable of when they put pen to paper.

Rudy Malcom

WBS Instructor (2019)