The School Advisory Council, also known as the SAC, may not be as widely discussed in the student commons as much as the SCA or other clubs, but behind the scenes, the members of the SAC have been working to better MLWGS since 2003. The council is composed of a combination of selected students, faculty, administrators, parents, and alumni. They work to improve the school’s environment, community, structure, and educational programs. By having members that are involved with the school in various ways, the SAC can ensure that their recommendations and improvements to the school are favored by students, staff, and other parties involved. Dr. Williams, the faculty historian of the SAC, has expressed the importance of having members of the council come from different backgrounds. “It is important for the most important stakeholders, our students, to have a voice at the table. It is equally as important for our teachers, who know and understand our students and who possess expertise and experience, to weigh in as well.”

In the past, the SAC has honed in on issues involving class diversity. At the beginning of 2021, the SAC conducted a racial climate survey within the school and has since been implementing changes based on its results. Cultural awareness is something that the SAC has been striving to increase these past few years. For example, with the help of parents, for Native American Heritage month, a speaker from the VMFA spoke on Native American exhibitions. There were also visual QR codes placed in the school directing students to media discussing Native American culture.

Williams has also stated that by working with other clubs and teams within the school, the SAC is able to expand cultural awareness and further cooperation between students and teachers. She stated, “I have found that there are opportunities for intersectionality between the work of SAC and the leadership team. For example, as a member of SAC’s Student Engagement and Culture subcommittee and our school’s Professional Development subcommittee, I have tried to coordinate some of our cultural awareness and immersion activities in order to pro- vide the opportunity for teachers and students to connect and collaborate.”

The council is also working to actively increase the level of diversity found in the student body. Audrey Paulson is one of two senior representatives on the SAC. She is actively involved in Maggie Walker’s outreach, stating, “My work on the committee has consisted mostly of creating media for distribution at middle schools and Maggie Walker events to attract a more diversified pool of applicants.”

This year the SAC is putting more focus on changing how certain classes are weighted at Maggie Walker. They are achieving this by reaching out to college admission representatives and students. The removal of numerical values from students’ transcripts, as well as the current 10-point grading scale that is utilized at MLWGS, are the result of the SAC’s work. Looking ahead to the 2023-2024 school year, there will be changes made to course labeling and weighting. To quote Paulson, “The end goal for this year will be to have a restructured weighting of AP, UNIV, Plus, and other similar classes.”