Four CVLA Students Selected as Winners of National Baseball Poetry Festival’s Youth Poetry Contest

CVLA students Justin (right) and Kaylee (left) were joined by Principal Meg Maccini (far left) at Polar Park on Saturday, May 9, at the National Baseball Poetry Festival

CHELSEA, Mass. – Four CVLA students have hit home runs in their Creative Writing class, winning top honors in the National Baseball Poetry Festival’s Youth Poetry Contest.

CVLA students Justin (10th Grade), Kaylee (10th grade), Nataly (8th Grade), and Nicie (8th Grade) were all selected as winners of the contest, which gathers entries from students in 4th-12th grade across the country. Students are asked to write poems related to the theme of baseball. The poems were judged on their creativity, originality, and style by a panel of judges that included educators, university students, and community members. 

As winners of the contest, these students will recite their poems at the fourth annual National Baseball Poetry Festival this Saturday at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts, the home of the WooSox. They also received a Certificate of Achievement, a National Baseball Poetry Festival t-shirt and tickets to the WooSox game for winning the contest. 

Kaylee (left) and Justin (right) recited their poems at a special ceremony for the winners of the Youth Poetry Contest at Polar Park in Worcester, Mass.

The students drew from various sources of inspiration for their poems. One student cited personal emotions and feelings to help write their poem. Another took time to do research about baseball, learned baseball terminology and compared what they learned to their own life experiences. Another cited the movie, Angels in the Outfield, as a source of inspiration. 

Students credited the Creative Writing class for growing as writers. The students said they’ve learned how to better express their ideas, how poetry can be an art form and how to use different types of poetry as well as figurative language to personalize their pieces. Multiple students shared how poetry has helped them express their feelings and how it can help one’s mental health.  
 

“We are incredibly proud of our CVLA students for this remarkable achievement. Their creativity, talent, and willingness to share their voices on a national stage truly represent the best of our school community," said Superintendent Dr. Almi G. Abeyta.

CVLA students Nicie (left) and Nataly (right) also won the National Baseball Poetry Festival’s Youth Poetry Contest 

The CVLA Creative Writing class is co-taught by CVLA teacher Audrey Aka and CVLA’s Artist-in-Residence Roberto Germán, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Multicultural Classroom. The class is offered to students through funding from La Colaborativa's Youth-Led Cultural Empowerment Mini Grants. 

“The creative writing class, in partnership with Roberto German's multicultural classroom and sponsored by La Colaborativa's Youth Empowerment grant, has done exactly what it set out to do. Students show up every day and get an opportunity to share their experiences in their own voices,” said CVLA teacher Audrey Aka. “To have some of these students be brave enough to submit to a national contest and win is just the cherry on top. The Chelsea Virtual Academy community is incredibly grateful to our partners for believing in our mission and in our students.”

“I am incredibly proud of the Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy students for being selected for recognition in the 4th annual National Baseball Poetry Festival's Youth Poetry Contest. I cannot understate the magnitude of this accomplishment for these developing and aspiring writers,” added Co-Founder and Executive Director of Multicultural Classroom Roberto Germán. “The Youth-Led Cultural Empowerment Grant funded by La Colaborativa has made it possible for me to partner with CVLA and co-lead this creative writing class with Ms. Audrey Aka. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and eager to witness the growth of the 18 middle and high school students in this class.”

From the classroom to the ballpark, these students have shown that when education inspires creativity and confidence, the result is nothing short of a home run.