Virginia Governor's Schools Program

The Governor's Schools are a collection of regional magnet high schools and summer programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia intended for gifted students.

Virginia Governor’s Schools provide some of the state’s most able students academically and artistically challenging programs beyond those offered in their home schools. With the support of the Virginia Board of Education and the General Assembly, the Governor’s Schools currently serve in their various forms around 1000 gifted students from all parts of the Commonwealth.

The concept of the Governor's School actually started as a three-year grant funded program in Stafford County, Virginia, from 1970 - 1972. One hundred Stafford public high school students were selected as "day students" and 100 public high school students from across the state were invited to be "on campus" students and were housed at the then Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Shirley C. Heim, Stafford County Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools, envisioned a program where the average person would be exposed to the arts. The original title was "the Humanities Institute." Mrs. Heim, under the supervision of Superintendent Andrew Wright, persuasively argued that Stafford County, culturally wiped out after the American Civil War, was more culturally deprived than Appalachia. Her argument helped secure the three year Federally funded grant program. It was after the three-year program ended that the Virginia State Department of Education, supported by Governor Linwood Holton, Jr., evolved the program away from the Arts to include science, technology, and journalism.

Begun in 1973 at the behest of Governor Linwood Holton, the first incarnation of the Governor's School program included summer residential sessions for 400 gifted students from across the Commonwealth. The first summer residential Governor's Schools were held in 1973 at Mary Baldwin College, Mary Washington College, and the Science Museum in Richmond. Isabelle P. Rucker, Director of Special Programs for the Gifted, oversaw the residential sessions until her retirement in the fall of 1979, and served as a mentor to both faculty and students for many years. Since its beginning, the program has expanded to more than 40 sites throughout the Commonwealth. Summer residential sessions are still offered, but many other programs have been developed, including the two flagship schools described below.

The Virginia Department of Education, in conjunction with localities, sponsors regional academic-year Governor’s Schools that serve gifted high school students during the academic year. Currently, 18 academic-year Governor’s Schools provide students with acceleration and exploration in areas ranging from the arts, to government and international studies, to global economics and technology, and to mathematics, science, and technology.

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