John W. Ligon GT Magnet Middle School, formerly John W. Ligon Junior-Senior High School, is a public magnet middle school in the Wake County Public School System located in the Chavis Heights neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina. It was historically an all black high school in Raleigh until it was integrated in 1971. History High school The groundbreaking ceremony for John W. Ligon High School was held in November 1951. The school opened in 1953, replacing Washington Graded and High School as the only all black secondary education institution in Raleigh, North Carolina. The overall building costs amounted to $1 million, making it the largest school construction project in the state at the time. It was named after John William Ligon, an educator, local pastor and interim principal at Washington. The school's books were supplied secondhand from its white counterpart, Broughton High School. Ligon was seen as model for black education throughout the state, attracting a large number of students and an educated teaching staff from the local black colleges. By the late 1960s it possessed a higher percentage of teachers with graduate degrees than any of Raleigh's three white schools. Middle school Ligon served as the city's only black high school until 1971, when it was desegregated and subsequently converted into a junior high school. In the late 1970s, officials considered closing the school, but this was met with opposition from alumni and Ligon continued to operate. In 1982, Ligon was formally consolidated into the new Wake County Public School System and became involved in the Magnet Program. The Crosby-Garfield school in Raleigh merged into Ligon at the same time. Between 1994 and 1995, computers and laserdisc players were installed in many of the school's classrooms. 360 students were educated on the use of ClarisWorks, HyperStudio, and MacGlobe software. Teachers were trained in the areas of data management, email, and multimedia. In the early 2000s, the school underwent major renovations and expansions, including the construction of new hallways, a baseball field, and additional classrooms. Demographics After the racial integration period, Ligon heavily promoted diversity, which is still part of its goal. As of 2007, there were 157 Asian students (~15%), 376 African-American students (~36%), 496 White students (~47%), and 17 Hispanic students (~1%). In addition, students' differences in income and class are shown by the 24% of the school which gets reduced price or free lunches. A large number