Franklin Elementary’s young poets pour out their hearts

The Franklin Elementary STARs stood before family and friends and spoke their minds, tween beliefs and fears condensed into verse.

“Why do I feel so sad, mad and angry? My feelings get in the way of everything. Dumb, dumb me. I can’t even see. See my future,” read 11-year-old Jinyah Tolliver.

Tolliver is one of 14 fifth- and sixth-graders who choose to spend lunch working on extra writing projects in the Scholars Together Always Rising (STAR) program at Franklin.

This year they focused on poetry, said Carolyn Evans, a community aide with Modesto City Schools who runs the first-year program at Franklin, a project of Principal Carol Brooks.

“We had them write from their hearts, whatever was most important to them,” she said. Beyond the time spent on writing, she added, the program builds school supports.

“What the program does is build long-lasting relationships with our scholars. We teach them to support each others’ dreams and their capabilities,” Evans said.

Parents joined teachers and staff in applauding the young poets on Tuesday.

“I think the whole program is amazing,” said dad William Pitts, whose sixth-grader Alana Pitts, 12, read a piece dedicated to him. “She’s gotta be something special,” he added with a smile.

For Tolliver, poetry became an outlet.

“Writing is like life, basically,” she said after reading her second piece. “I don’t explode. I don’t hide. I just write my thoughts down.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Franklin Elementary’s young poets pour out their hearts."