Academics
Today, MLWGSGIS is known for its outstanding academic record and high performance in scholastic competitions such as "We the People" and "Battle of the Brains." All academic classes are taught at an honors or higher level. A large percentage of Governor's School seniors are accepted into the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and/or a number of other well-respected universities, including many in the Ivy League and Federal Service Academies. The class of 2010 received over $8.1 million in scholarships for 159 senior students. Students perform well above the national and state average on the SAT, with scores averaging 2047 for 2009.
In keeping with the school's name, which indicates a focus on government and international interests, the school offers AP courses in American History, European History, American and Comparative Government, Micro and Macro Economics, Psychology, and Human Geography, and has received awards for high scores on the American History AP Test. In addition, the school offers 2 AP English courses, 2 AP Calculus courses (AB and BC), several university post-calculus math classes such as Multivariable Calculus, and a variety of science classes including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics and AP Environmental Science, as well as Anatomy and Physiology, Genetics, Biopsychology, Forensic Chemistry, Engineering and Chaos Theory.
Students are required to take 4 years of a primary language, and 2 years of another to make up 6 total years of foreign language instruction. Five foreign languages are offered through a 4 year, 5 year, or AP level, including French, German, Spanish, Latin, and Chinese. Japanese, Ancient Greek, Italian, Russian, American Sign Language, and Arabic are taught in a two or three year sequence. Many students take courses that are two or three years ahead of their grade level. In order to provide adequate course offerings, the administration offers a plethora of AP courses along with Dual Enrollment courses through Virginia Commonwealth University and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.
Read more about this topic: Maggie L. Walker Governor's School For Government And International Studies
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)