The Youth Dreamers are a group of students in grades seven through ten who decided that we wanted our voices to be heard.

We are part of the Stadium School, a Baltimore City Public School that serves about 140 students in grades four through eight in the communities surrounding Memorial Stadium, including the targeted community of Waverly. It is the first public school in Maryland that was designed and is directed by teachers, parents, and community members.
	Ireeka helps decorate the classroom for a surprise party!

Students attend rigorous academic classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. They choose to attend a community-based "Project Class" on Wednesdays. Before the development of Project Classes, students chose two elective courses each six weeks. The Youth Dreamers originated from an elective course called Community Action in March 2001. They have since grown into a full-day Project Class, with added work taking place in the evenings and on weekends for students who no longer attend the school.

When this course began in March 2001, we talked about issues in our community that we wanted to change. We know that too many adolescents are involved with negative acts after school. We decided that our mission would be to decrease the negative acts that youth are exposed to after school. With that mission in mind, we decided to create a youth-run youth center.

We signed a pledge that shows our commitment to the Youth Dreamers during and after our time at the Stadium School. Five students now attend high school, but continue to be involved with the Youth Dreamers. Four of them serve on our Board of Directors and are involved after school hours and on weekends.