Banner on display at Luxmanor ES created by the Young Minority Scholars of 2008-2009

Young Minority Scholars Program 

The purpose of the Luxmanor Young Minority Scholars Program is:

• Enrich the educational experience and cultural awareness of minority students
• Build student to student relationships
• Nurture self-esteem and confidence in minority students as they prepare to enter middle school

Program Coordinators are:
Janet Higgins & Jackie Kurtz

Check out the Walter Johnson HS Minority Scholars Program webpage.

Schedule of Meetings

What our Past Guest Speakers Had to Say

May 12, 2009

Dr. Denise Greene, Director of School Performance for the Walter Johnson cluster, spoke to the Luxmanor Young Minority  students during their meeting on May 12, 2009.  Dr. Greene talked to the students about her job in OSP and her work as a teacher and elementary school principal.  Sharing pictures from her kindergarten and high school days, Dr. Greene informed students that she wasn’t a “super smart” student in elementary school and high school, but she learned how to be a super smart person with hard word, doing homework, always trying and working hard, paying attention, asking questions and finding help when she needed it.

A highlight for students of Dr. Greene’s presentation was information and pictures about Japanese schools.  Dr. Greene was a participant in the Fulbright Memorial fund Teacher Program.   This program facilitates collaboration and learning between the Japanese and American cultures to develop deeper understanding and respect.

Dr. Greene offered a few tips to students about what she might do differently in elementary and high school.  The useful tips were:

• Pay attention
• Do your homework
• Ask questions when you don’t understand something
• Remember:  it doesn’t take “super smart” or specific skills or talents to achieve your goals

February 10, 2009
Two student members of the Tilden School Minority Scholars Program, Stevens R and Ana G., joined the Luxmanor Young Minority Scholars for a pizza lunch.  Stevens and Ana talked to our students about the academic and extracurricular programs at Tilden, particularly the Tilden Minority Scholars program.  They also shared some tips for success in middle school. 

Tips from Stevens and Ana:

• Get organized – Students have seven classes each day at Tilden, so students must be very organized.  Ana suggested that students can practice getting organized in elementary school by:
  • keeping their binders and desks neat
  • keeping their room neat and organized at home.
  • doing chores at home
• Develop study habits – Students can practice studying for tests by:
  • using note cards
  • studying sections of content material rather than all at once
  • take study breaks
  • read more – think about what you read and summarize it to help you remember what you read
• Study and do your best
• Make a lot of friends in sixth grade so you:
  • Have more fun
  • Have people to depend on
  • Have friends to help you run your campaign if you decide to run for student government

Amy, Andre, and Tanya talked about their academic pursuits and a wide range of extracurricular activities they participate in at Walter Johnson High School (WJHS).   The visitors explained Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes and opportunities to take courses at local colleges.   They also talked about their experiences on the volleyball, track and Pom Pom teams, as well as assuming leadership roles in the WJ Minority Scholars Program.  The high school students offered some excellent tips to the Luxmanor students.  

• Recommend yourself for honors and AP classes.  Don’t wait to be recommended by a teacher.
• Get involved in sports and other activities.  This helps you to:
  • make friends
  • meet people who have similar interests
  • relieve stress
• Take Honors classes.  This helps you to:
  • challenge yourself to learn more
  • make friends and meet people
  • learn in a new environment with students who want to work hard and don’t want to be slackers
• Do more than what is required.  It will help you later on.
• Always do your homework.
• Push yourself as much as you can.  This will help you
  • get more out of your classes
  • prepare you for school and later in life and at work.
• Ask for help especially if you take a challenging class.
• Take fun classes, too.  This will help you to develop new interests and talents.

2008-2009 Activities and Speakers

2007-2008 Activites and Speakers