Language matters. The words we use to describe ourselves and our experiences matter. The words we use can shape how young people see themselves, and even how they think about themselves as they move through the world. One of the most meaningful choices we’ve made as a school community is this:
We don’t call them students.
We call them scholars.
It’s a word with history at LJA, and that story begins more than a decade ago.
A Moment That Changed Everything
In 2010, an LJA STEM class partnered with an Indigenous group for a field trip to Bdote — a sacred confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Bdote is a place of deep cultural significance and a site where learning naturally shifts from the theoretical to the lived.
Standing on that land, our young people weren’t just hearing about history. They were engaging with it. Listening to voices connected to the place. Asking questions rooted in curiosity, culture, and responsibility. Seeing knowledge not as something held in a textbook, but something carried by people, land, and story.
Something clicked.
On that trip, a teacher described the group not as students, but as scholars — young people doing real intellectual work, making meaning, and engaging with the world. The word stuck. It spread through classrooms, hallways, and eventually the whole school.
And it transformed more than vocabulary. It shaped identity. It helped young people see themselves as more than a student sitting in a class, absorbing knowledge, but as people who are a part of the world they’re learning in.
What Scholar Means at LJA
At many schools, “student” is simply a role. At LJA, “scholar” is a mindset.
Being a scholar means:
Learning with purpose — connecting ideas to real-world issues, community needs, and personal identity.
Engaging with many perspectives — especially those that have historically been underrepresented.
Thinking critically and creatively — not just memorizing, but questioning, exploring, and building knowledge.
Honoring culture and context — understanding that learning is richer when it includes the voices and histories of others.
Carrying learning beyond the classroom — into homes, communities, and future dreams.
This mindset empowers young people to see themselves as capable, curious, and worthy of being taken seriously. Scholars lead. Scholars experiment. Scholars imagine new possibilities.
A Tradition That Still Shapes Us
More than a decade later, “scholar” remains one of the most important words at LJA. It reflects who our learners are — and who they are becoming.
It tells them:
You belong here.
Your thinking matters.
Your voice has value.
You are a learner for life, not just for a grade.
In a world that’s changing fast, this identity is powerful. It prepares young people not just for academic success, but for thoughtful, connected, purpose-driven lives.
Learning Never Stops at the Door
At Laura Jeffrey Academy, we believe young people thrive when they see themselves as thinkers, dreamers, and doers. Calling them scholars isn’t a slogan, it’s a promise we’ve made. A promise that their ideas matter and that their curiosity will be nurtured. Because at LJA, learning isn’t confined to a classroom. It lives in community, culture, place, and possibility.