From left, Superintendent Peter Livingston, school board members Tom Courtney and Jessica Risler, MS Student of the Month Harlow Johnson, HS Student of the Month Alex Santillan, school board member Chelsea LaGrange, board president Jason Hansen, and board member Jim Harvey.Photo by Olga Fisher
Published on Wednesday, September 16, 2026
The Lucerne Valley USD Board of Trustees recognized Harlow Johnson and Alex Santillan as Middle/High School students of the month during the September 10th meeting. Assistant Principal Chris Watkins presented the awards.
Harlow Johnson - Middle School
“As you know, transitioning up from the elementary school to the middle school can be challenging,” Mr. Watkins began. “Some of the academics may be a little overwhelming, and then you add all of the activities that are involved in trying to juggle it all, and the student just has an excellent, excellent start. And this is Miss Harlow Johnson.”
Mr. Watkins shared comments from Harlow’s English class teacher.
“Harlow is an outstanding student in my English class, so she is respectful to everyone around her. Harlow always has something meaningful to contribute and often things out of the box in regard to our honors level content.
“Harlow is a good student who always gets her work done, works well with others, and is consistently respectful. That consistent theme of hardworking kid with a great attitude. Harlow is a great student, such a joy to have in math class. She consistently shows a dedication to improving her skills. As you know, math can be challenging. She has quickly moved through the warmups, mastering her facts, moving on to integers as well. She is able to work both independently and with the small groups. She will often take initiative to help those in her group or at her table. We just love to have all of that positivity in our classrooms.”
Alex Santillan - High School
“We talk state tests, state testing, all of the scores are coming out, but the one thing that that cannot quantify is human connection,” Mr. Watkins said, “and in the springtime, this gentleman, Alex Santillan, made a really good connection with Mr. Cope, one of our teachers.”
“They would have these conversations almost every morning, just meeting and talking. We started to see these really cool projects. And so, again, that's an employee that doesn't have Alex as a student. So you never know where those connections are going to be made.
Another teacher wrote this about Alex:
“I have seen significant growth in Alex Santillan, both academically and personally. He consistently demonstrates a positive attitude towards school and is becoming more involved in his school community. Recently, Alex has volunteered his time to assist with activities such as helping with the junior class banner setup and participating in other after-school events.
“I truly appreciate Alex's willingness to participate in class discussion and contribute to classroom activities. His positive attitude, helpfulness, and willingness to support his classmates and friends have been wonderful to see. Alex continues to show growth in becoming a responsible, engaged, and supportive member of the school community.”