Social studies teacher Stephanie Hunt has taken on the additional role of teaching in the African American Latino Scholars Program.  Hunt carries an enthusiasm about the program as she prompts her students to think about their own identity as scholars.

What is your position?

I am part time in the social studies department and part time working with the scholars program. I am currently teaching the sophomore scholars seminar.

What was the process of getting selected for that role?

I had applied for the scholars coordinator position and it worked out where Dr. Lemel was hired and there was money in the budget to bring on another teacher in a part time fashion so my love for scholars was alive and it is still present so it made sense for me to take this opportunity and even though it wasn’t the opportunity that I had initially sought, it was a great opportunity to still be connect with the program.

What do you do in a day to day class?

The sophomores get PSAT help twice a week and then the other two meetings they are with me in seminar. Currently we are looking at the identity of a scholar and my goal is to provide them with a more comprehensive view on what a scholar looks like and to provide them with examples of scholars that look like them and that have similar experience,  obstacles, and successes that they do. So right now it’s all about exposure and defining or even redefining what it means to be a scholar and what it means to be a pioneer in your community

Do you think teaching scholars classes has affected how you teach your other classes?

I think what has had an effect on me is last year Dean Poon and Ms. Ramos came up with this idea of the identity curriculum. It’s about getting the students more connected with what they are learning whether it be in history, english, math and science. The goal is for students to feel like they are connected and represented in what they learn in the classroom and I think that has definitely impacted my view of curriculum.  With scholars I have more flexibility to play with things, but even with my modern world history classes I feel like when I am looking at my curriculum I am thinking “Okay, in what way can we bridge the past and the present. In what way can we bridge these subjects with who our students are”.

What are you hopes for the future of scholars?

My hope is that more students know what the scholars program is. I fear that the broader community only knows it by name and does not know enough about what they do, who they are, and what their accomplishments are. My hope is more visibility. I would love scholars to get involved in other programs as well. I want the program to grow. If the program grows, that means that more and more students are hitting the requirements. Our expectations aren’t lowering, but students are meeting them and that’s a testament to the support staff that work with scholars and a testament to the students that continuously are bringing each other up and helping each other succeed.