Walter Johnson High School

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Walter Johnson High School
File:Wjlogo.png
Location
Map
Bethesda
,
Maryland

USA
Information
TypePublic Secondary
Established1956
School districtMontgomery County Public Schools
PrincipalDr. Christopher S. Garran
Grades9–12
Number of students1,960 (2007-2008)
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Green and White
MascotWildcat, Cow, Banana, Others
NewspaperThe Pitch
Websitehttp://walterjohnson.com
Aerial photograph of WJHS (during construction).

Walter Johnson High School, (WJHS) is located at 6400 Rock Spring Drive in Bethesda, an unincorporated region of Montgomery County, Maryland.

WJHS serves areas in Bethesda, and Rockville as well as the towns of Garrett Park and Kensington.

History

Walter Johnson High School was founded in 1956 as part of the Montgomery County Public School system (MCPS). The school is named in honor of the late Washington Senators' baseball pitcher, Walter Johnson, who resided in a Bethesda house which still stands just a few miles away from the school on Old Georgetown Road. After retiring from baseball, Walter Johnson became a county commissioner for Montgomery County.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the outer suburbs of Washington were within five minutes' drive of the Beltway, Walter Johnson was viewed as a "country" or "outer-suburban" school. The school was surrounded by farms and livestock, notably cow herds. Yearbooks indicate that, although at first Walter Johnson's rival high school may have been Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland, as early as 1960 a heated rivalry arose between Walter Johnson and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, which lasted several decades.

During 1972-73 academic year, "WJ" experimented with a 90-minute mid-day "activity period" in which no formal classes were held and students were encouraged to occupy themselves voluntarily with extracurricular activities, which could include simply socializing or reading a book, as well as organized extracurricular activities. This unstructured approach to education was intended to encourage creativity and individuality. The activity period was cut back to two days a week in subsequent years.

Despite numerous renovations, the original building still stands. Additional wings have been added to the school on either end and classrooms have been modernized. A new student common area and cafeteria were added to the school in 2003. "The Clock," well-known to students, is still in working order and resides in the front hallway above the two golden plaques of the Wildcat and Spartan.

Students

Enrollment increased from just a few hundred students in 1956 to 1600 students in 1960 and 2,000 students by 2005. During tremendous growth of the D.C. metropolitan area, particularly during the Vietnam Era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the school's environment changed from countryside to that of a major metropolitan suburb.

Modernization

Starting in fall of 2007, 1/3 of WJHS had been placed under construction, replaced by 46 portables (nicknamed the "portable city"). WJHS is scheduled for completion in 2010, which will include a 'Student Commons', free WiFi throughout the entire school, and a public space for all students. The space will be completed in the second phase of the process. A new wing houses new ESOL, English rooms that are easily accessible from the rest of the ground floor.

Mascots

When it first opened in 1956, its original mascot was the Spartan. In 1987, the students of neighboring Charles W. Woodward High School merged into WJHS and the building became Tilden Middle School. The students were allowed to vote on the new merged school colors and mascot. The requirement that one school would keep their colors while the other school would keep their mascot. Woodward's "Wild Thing the Wildcat" and WJHS school colors -- green and white, won out. Unbeknownst to most WJ alumni, the Wildcat logo was designed by Thomas B. Spande (class of 1990). In January of 1994, Spande beat his mother to death with a hammer and was charged with first-degree murder.[1] He was eventually absolved of the crime since he suffered from schizophrenic hallucinations and believed the world was about to end.[2] He is currently an artist in Maryland.

The unofficial mascot of the school is "Mighty Moo", a large brown cow. Early in Walter Johnson's history cows used to roam onto the football fields at various times. As seen in Walter Johnson yearbooks from the 1960s, the Mighty Moo character originated as a painting by an ambitious and very bold WJ student (who shall remain nameless) , who painted a cartoon cow on the brick chimney at the back of the school, overlooking the football field, large enough to be clearly visible from cars passing by on Democracy Boulevard. Making lemons into lemonade, Walter Johnson adopted the cow as its unofficial mascot under the name Mighty Moo. Later yearbooks show that, even as the area became urbanized, the cows remained nearby and continued to graze across Rock Spring Drive from the school, pasturing in the shadows of high-rise office buildings through the late 1970s. Even though the cows are now gone, Mighty Moo remains a mascot of Walter Johnson.

Curriculum

Walter Johnson’s signature program, Advanced Placement Experience, is in its ninth year. The APEX Scholars Program is designed to be a highly competitive four-year course of study. Prospective students apply during their eighth grade year, and are notified of their admission in the early spring prior to their ninth grade year. The application process includes making a list of activities, getting 4 teacher recommendations, and taking an essay test. The program offers a select group of students a comprehensive curriculum combining accelerated honors and intensive advanced placement level coursework.
Walter Johnson has recently added an ACES program, which is similar to the APEX program but focuses on science and math instead of English and history. ACES has no admissions test; participation is simply declared, typically before the end of freshmen year.

Accomplishments

Academic

Walter Johnson High School was rated as one of "America's Best High Schools" by Newsweek magazine and was named the 45th best public high school in the nation for 2003[citation needed].

In 2005 Walter Johnson High School was named 80th best public school by Newsweek magazine as one of "America's Best High Schools"[citation needed].

The College Board ranked Walter Johnson's AP World History class as the best in the world.[3]

Walter Johnson High School was rated as one of "America's Best High Schools" by Newsweek magazine and was ranked the 101 for best public high schools in the nation for 2006[citation needed].

WJHS's "It's Academic" team won the Washington Area Championship and the mid-Atlantic Super Bowl in 2005 and in 2007. The team has also had several of its members elected to the All-State team, the most successful team at the Panasonic Academic Challenge.

The Walter Johnson Debate Team has been county champion every year since 2003 and was also county champion from 1993-2000. The Forensics Team has been county champion every year since 2001 and achieved either 2nd, 3rd or 4th Place in the County League from 1990 to 2000.

Athletic

All tournaments and finals are conducted by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA).

Cross Country

  • Maryland Class 3A State Champions (Girls) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
  • Maryland Class 4A State Champions (Boys) 2008, 2009

Basketball

  • Maryland Class B State Champions 1987

Soccer

  • Maryland Class A State Champions 1978
  • Maryland Class 3A State Champions 2000
  • Maryland Class 4A State Champions 2006
  • Girls - Montgomery County Champions 1995, 1998

Boys Ice Hockey

  • Maryland Scholastic Hockey League Public School State Champions 2004-2005

Football

  • Walter Johnson won its first football game of the year in 2008 against local high school Poolseville. WJ's top rival is Winston Churchill High School. Despite a locally well known losing streak, they do manage to get an average attendance of 2500 people to show up to each game. Walter Johnson won the Bi-County Championship (the athletic league formed by the high schools of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties) during the fall season of 1962. "The Washington Post" ranked the Spartans the number one football team in the DC metropolitan area that year. During the 09' season they managed to get a 3-win streak on the last 3 games of their season.

Field Hockey

  • Maryland Class 4A State Champions 1989

Track and Field

  • Maryland Class 3A State Champions (Girls) 2003.

Tennis

  • Maryland State Champions Mixed Doubles 2003, 2004, 2005
  • Maryland State Champions Girls Doubles 2003,2007, 2008, 2009
  • 2006 Division & County Team Champions

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Md. Woman Found Slain in Her Home," The Washington Post, Veronica Jennings, 1/12/94
  2. ^ "College Student Absolved in Mother's Beating Death," The Washington Post, Brian Mooar, 6/17/94
  3. ^ "Local Students Win 'Best In The World' Title For Academics". nbc4.com. 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2008-05-01.

External links

39°01′34″N 77°07′48″W / 39.026243°N 77.130000°W / 39.026243; -77.130000

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