Walter Johnson High School | |
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Address | |
6400 Rock Spring Drive North Bethesda CDP (Bethesda postal address) , 20814-1913 United States | |
Coordinates | 39°01′34″N77°08′06″W / 39.026110°N 77.134955°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1956 |
Status | Open |
School district | Montgomery County Public Schools |
NCES District ID | 2400480 [1] |
CEEB code | 210912 |
NCES School ID | 240048000942 [2] |
Principal | Nicole J. Morgan |
Teaching staff | 153.90 (FTE) (2021-2022) [3] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2,870 [3] (2021-2022) |
• Grade 9 | 814 |
• Grade 10 | 684 |
• Grade 11 | 674 |
• Grade 12 | 698 |
Student to teacher ratio | 18.65:1 (2021-2022) [3] |
Campus type | Suburban [3] |
Color(s) | Green White |
Mascot | The Mighty Moo & Wildcat |
Nickname | WJ |
Rival | Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School [4] |
Newspaper | The Pitch |
Yearbook | The Windup |
Website | www2 |
Walter Johnson High School (also known as Walter Johnson or WJ) is a public upper secondary school located in the census-designated place of North Bethesda, Maryland (Bethesda postal address). [5] [6] The school was founded in 1956 and named after Walter Johnson, a famous baseball player who was also a native of Montgomery County, Maryland. The high school was the first to be named after a player of Major League Baseball. WJHS serves portions of Bethesda, North Bethesda, Potomac, and Rockville, as well as the towns of Garrett Park and Kensington. [7] It is a part of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
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The school first opened to grades 10-12 in 1956, [8] and was named after the local baseball pitcher and politician, Walter Johnson. The school's original mascot and team name was The Spartans; as the student body chose the school colors based on the colors and name of Michigan State University, Spartans. The school mascot was named in 1963 as Mighty Moo, a dairy cow, named after the cows that roamed the fields before the school was built. [8] After a 1987 consolidation with nearby Charles W. Woodward High School, Walter Johnson maintained its school colors of white and green, but adopted Woodward's mascot, "Wild Thing" the Wildcat. [9]
Walter Johnson High School established their APEX-Reach Signature Program in 1996. [10] This APEX-Reach Program leads students through a more rigorous curriculum through a combination of honors and Advance Placement (AP) classes. [11]
The school offers Advance Placement (AP) classes since pre-1996 with a total 28 AP classes. [10] Since the fall of 2023, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will pay for all AP and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams that students who take these courses will take. [12]
In 1960, sixteen more rooms were added to the school along ten more in 1964. Construction in the mid-1970s introduced the addition to a secondary gym and theater. In the merge with the Charles W. Woodward High School, more lockers, trophy cases, and seven portable classrooms were added. [8]
At the start of the 2001-2002 school year began construction plans to renovate the school. [8] The construction took ten years which include new installations like 19 more classrooms, 4 more science labs, a new cafeteria, stadium, media center, new gym, and new auditorium. [8] [13] The renovation also include the addition of more amenities like an art, music, and technology suite. The school's entrance was designed to have a glass ceiling decorated with 90 national flags respresenting the nationalities of the student population. [13]
The school offers a variety of sports with fall, winter, and springs sports. In the fall, the school offers cross country, field hockey, football, golf, pom pon, soccer, and volleyball. In the winter, the school offers baseketball, bocce, indoor track, swimming, and wrestling. In the spring, the school offers baseball, lacrosse, softball, tennis, track, and volleyball. [14]
Walter Johnson has classes to support their literature with their own newspaper, The Pitch, as well as their own literary magazine, The Spectator. Their Yearbook is named The Windup. [8]
The school contains several ensembles for music like the Madrigals, Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Band, Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. These ensembles often perform for county and/or state competitions in various venues.
Walter Johnson also has their own musical productions, WJ STAGE, and along with it their own production crew.
As of 2021-2022: [15]
Race / Ethnicity (2021-2022) | Number | Percent |
---|---|---|
White | 1,442 | 50.4% |
Black | 355 | 12.4% |
Native American/Alaska Native | 4 | 0.14% |
Asian | 369 | 12.9% |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.18% |
Hispanic | 508 | 17.7% |
Two or More Races | 180 | 6.28% |
Total | 2,863 | 100% |
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