Classification Issue
Though AAA schools in Virginia are supposed to be around 1,500 students or larger, a considerable number of schools in the Central Region are below this size and petition to play up in Group AAA. In fact out of the 32 Central Region member schools, 13 are Group AA size, and one is Group A size. Usually, the VHSL accepts petitions from schools that choose to do this. While members that play up to AAA usually have enrollments close to the AA/AAA cutoff, schools such as Colonial Heights High School and Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in Richmond City enroll under 1,000 students. Indeed, Maggie Walker Governor's School is at around 600 and would be classified in Group A if they did not petition to play up.
The main reason why these schools play in AAA is to play with district schools that are nearby, rather than drive out farther away to play similarly sized schools. However, the region has enough AA sized members to create two AA districts (except for Maggie Walker) made up of smaller sized Central Region schools. Though it is not considered a "hot" issue at the moment, some VHSL officials are not particularly pleased with the fact that many schools in the Central Region that are small AA size or smaller continue to play up in AAA. This to some degree has caused Group AA to be the smallest group of the three classes (A schools tend to stay in Group A and not play up), and AAA to be the largest. This has also caused crowding in the AAA Eastern Region, which currently has 39 schools, only five of which have elected to play up.
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The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the principal sanctioning organization for interscholastic athletic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VHSL first sponsored debate and also continues to sponsor state championships in several academic activities.
The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies (MLWGSGIS) is a public regional magnet high school in Richmond, Virginia.
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Stone Bridge High School is a public secondary school in Ashburn, a community in Loudoun County, Virginia.
The 4A Dulles District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that includes schools from Northern Virginia, with all of its full-time members from Loudoun County. 4A is the third largest enrollment class of the Virginia High School League and is typically very competitive in Virginia high school sports.
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