Marina Medina was terrified of what the other kids in class would think of her story. She said it hurt to write it. But when she read part of it aloud in class last Tuesday, she spoke with confidence before a captive audience.

Her story, "Painful Days," is one of 22 personal memoirs written by Capshaw Middle School eighth-grade students in the anthology Crossroads: Stories of Our Emerging Selves.

Capshaw has something no other school in the state has: Pen in the Classroom, or PITC. PITC, which began in 1995 in Southern California, sends professional writers into the classroom to encourage middle and high school students to find their voices — "Helping students move from 'can't' to 'can,' " is how PITC visiting poet Nancy King puts it.

Santa Fe writer Kate Buckley initiated PITC in New Mexico at Capshaw in 2008. There are three language-arts teachers at Capshaw — June Parnes, Theresa Anaya-Burney and Mariah Runyan — who work with resident PITC writers on the program each semester.

Each residency results in the publication of a student anthology. Crossroads is from the students in Capshaw teacher Parnes' class — where King works.

Their stories range from heartbreaking (as with Medina's memoir, which recounts her abuse at the hands of her stepfather), to inspiring (Issac Vargas' "Hard, Fun, and Painful," about taking personal pride in athletics, even when you lose a game), to love of family to fear of a dog to angst during a camping trip.

These are stories written by children who are turning into adults through their life experiences. The authors have already tasted defeat, victory, pain and joy.

King visits the class once a week for 12 weeks. She starts by using visual arts — sculpting clay, for instance — to stimulate the students' imagination and creativity.

On Tuesday, before the reading, she asked the students to sculpt two miniature models: one expressing how they felt before they started writing memoirs, and one expressing how they feel now.

Many shaped a flat work to show where they were at the beginning of the process. All crafted nuanced, layered creations to represent where they are now. "I'm sprouting up, becoming a tree," one student said.

King said many of these students have tested below grade level before they started the program. This process teaches them not only how to spell and use proper grammar, but how to write without fear of judgment or rejection.

"Many of them felt what they had to say was not important," Parnes said of the process. "Not only did this program improve their writing skills, but the students' confidence in themselves increased measurably."

Santa Fe School Board President Richard Polese, a publisher, editor and author who attended last Tuesday's reading, put it this way: "These are kids who don't think they have potential who end up having a story to tell."

Another PITC reading involving all classrooms will take place at Capshaw in May.

Visit penusa.org and click on "programs" for more information.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.