We believe that student excellence is distributed throughout our communities; therefore, Maggie Walker’s student community should be representative of the diversity found throughout the districts that feed into the school.

The historical methods of admitting Maggie Walker Governor’s School students has disproportionately favored White and Asian students, while disadvantaging Black and Latinx students.

If the school were represent​​ative of the region, the incoming 2019 class would be 41.9% White, 35.5% Black, 15.0% Latinx, 4.2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.4% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 4.4% Multiethnic/Unspecified

In the 2019 incoming class, just 4.8% of students were Black and 3.2% Latinx. Meanwhile, 67.0% were White and 19% were Asian/Pacific Islander.

To Address This:

 

Admission Assessment

 

We know that standardized testing is limited in its ability to assess academic excellence, and we believe that a portfolio assessment process would better equip MLWGS in admitting candidates. 

Articles on MLWGS Admissions & Related Research

 

Supporting Student Needs

 

We also know that admissions alone will not address racial inequities at MLWGS. We join students in supporting and advocating for microaggression reporting structures for students and faculty training and resources.

MLWGS School Advisory Council Racial Climate Survey Executive Summary

 

Data Transparency

 

In order to better determine how admission and school procedures impact student diversity and performance, we want to see transparent reporting of governor school-specific data through the existing Virginia Department of Education data systems.

We know we won’t successfully do this work alone; therefore, we are committed to working in partnership with the Black Alumni Association and actively seeking and incorporating feedback into our work.