Founder Charles Thomas Walker Phone +1 706-823-6950 | Principal Athena Snowberger | |
Type Public Examination School Motto We can't hide our wildcat pride. Established 1934 (as an elementary school)1980 (as an exam school) Mascot C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School Wild cat | ||
Charles Thomas Walker Traditional Magnet School (C. T. Walker) is a public examination school located in the Laney-Walker district of Augusta, Georgia that draws students from kindergarten through eighth grade from all parts of the Richmond County School System. The school is one of three magnet schools in Richmond County.
Contents
History
The school's history dates back to 1934, when it housed grades 1-7. The building was constructed with federal assistance and opened with an enrollment of 1500 students (500 over the building's specifications). When Richmond County schools were integrated in the 1970s, the enrollment of the school changed, decreasing to about 500 students. Court-ordered busing was instituted to ensure racial balances in student population and to remedy fluctuating enrollment patterns.
In 1980, the school became a magnet school, housing grades K-5. Like other magnet schools in the county, racial quotas maintain a racially balanced student body (45% African American, 45% Caucasian, 10% other). The magnet school concept brought changes in structural organization. During the first year as a magnet school, C. T. Walker housed 400 students who were admitted to the basis of a lottery that was conducted by community leaders and school officials for grades K-5. Beginning with the 1981 school year, the sixth grade was added to the school structure, followed by the seventh grade in 1982, and the eighth grade in 1983. In 1999, the C. T. Walker Magnet School celebrated its twentieth anniversary as a magnet school.