Walter Johnson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The school first opened with grades 10-12 in 1956, and was named after a famous American baseball pitcher and politician, Walter Johnson, who lived in the area and had died 10 years prior. The school's original mascot and team name was the Spartans, as the student body chose to base their own colors and mascot on the Michigan State University Spartans. Originally, the school only educated 11th and 12th graders. In 1963, Mighty Moo, a dairy cow named after the cows that roamed the adjacent fields of the Davis farm until the early 90s, was named the school mascot. 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. In 1963, a group of Seniors painted Mighty Moo onto the school chimney where it remains to this day.

Reader's Guide

Walter Johnson High School established their APEX-Reach Signature Program in 1996. This APEX-Reach Program leads students through a more rigorous curriculum through a combination of honors and Advance Placement (AP) classes. The school has offered Advance Placement (AP) classes since before 1996 with a total of 28 AP classes. 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. WJ students average a score of 1192 on the SAT, with 604 on verbal and 588 on math. As of 2024, Walter Johnson is the 15th-ranked high school in Maryland and the 855th-ranked nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report. The school offers a variety of sports with fall, winter, and spring sports. 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.

Did You Know?

• Walter Johnson High School was the first high school to be named after a player of Major League Baseball.
• The school's original mascot was the Spartans, based on Michigan State University's colors and mascot.
• In 1963, a dairy cow named Mighty Moo became the school mascot, and a painting of her on the school chimney remains to this day.
• After a 1987 consolidation with Charles W. Woodward High School, Walter Johnson adopted Woodward's mascot, 'Wild Thing' the Wildcat.
• As of 2024, Walter Johnson is the 15th-ranked high school in Maryland and the 855th-ranked nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Founding & Identity

Walter Johnson High School opened its doors in 1956 as a public institution within Montgomery County Public Schools, serving students in Bethesda, North Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Garrett Park, and Kensington. It holds a unique distinction in American education: it was the first high school to be named for a Major League Baseball player. The namesake, Walter Johnson, was a celebrated pitcher and politician who had lived in the county and passed away a decade before the school's opening. The school's identity evolved considerably over the decades. The original student body chose the Spartans as their team name, drawing inspiration from Michigan State University, and adopted white and green as their colors. In 1963, a senior class painted a dairy cow called Mighty Moo onto the school chimney—a tribute to the cattle that once grazed the neighboring Davis farm—and the cow became the official mascot. That identity lasted until 1987, when a consolidation with Charles W. Woodward High School brought a new symbol: "Wild Thing" the Wildcat, while the white-and-green palette remained. The Mighty Moo mural still adorns the chimney to this day.

Academic Rigor & Recognition

Walter Johnson High School has built a reputation for academic challenge that extends well beyond a standard curriculum. In 1996 the school launched its APEX-Reach Signature Program, a structured pathway that weaves honors coursework together with Advanced Placement classes to create a more demanding educational experience. The school currently offers 28 AP courses, and since the fall of 2023, Montgomery County Public Schools has committed to covering the cost of every AP and International Baccalaureate exam fee for enrolled students, removing a financial barrier. The outcomes speak for themselves. Students at Walter Johnson average an SAT composite score of 1,192, split between 604 in the verbal section and 588 in mathematics. According to U.S. News & World Report's 2024 rankings, the school sits at 15th place among Maryland's high schools and 855th in the national field. The feeder pipeline feeding into Walter Johnson is equally structured: two middle schools—North Bethesda and Tilden—each draw from three elementary schools, creating a clear articulation path from early grades through graduation.

A Campus That Grew With Its Community

The physical footprint of Walter Johnson High School tells a story of steady expansion. When the building first opened in 1956, it housed only eleventh- and twelfth-graders. By 1960 sixteen additional rooms had been added, followed by ten more in 1964. The mid-1970s brought a second gymnasium and a theater, and the 1987 merger with Woodward contributed extra lockers, trophy displays, and seven portable classrooms. The most ambitious transformation began at the start of the 2001-02 school year and stretched across a full decade. That renovation added nineteen new classrooms, four science laboratories, a rebuilt cafeteria, an outdoor stadium, a media center, a new gymnasium, and a new auditorium, along with dedicated suites for art, music, and technology. One striking design choice was the entrance canopy: a glass ceiling inlaid with ninety national flags, a visual nod to the diverse nationalities in the student body. Today the school enrolls more than 3,000 students, with over 700 in each grade. To ease that pressure, Montgomery County has scheduled the full reopening of Woodward High School for August 2027, though the project has already lost up to $39 million in funding due to calculation errors in prevailing-wage and bid-award processes.

Alumni Who Shaped the World

The list of notable Walter Johnson graduates reads like a who's-who spanning politics, science, entertainment, and public service. Jeffrey C. Hall, a geneticist and chronobiologist, earned the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Adriana Kugler served as an executive director at the World Bank before joining the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Anita Dunn advised President Barack Obama, while Robb Austin represented a district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Ariana Kelly served in the Maryland House of Delegates. In the arts and media, the school has produced a remarkable roster: film director and Broadway producer Stephen Herek, actors Georgia Engel, Colleen Haskell (also a Survivor season-one contestant), and John Michael Higgins, singer-songwriter Tommy Keene, and political journalist Jonathan Allen. Carol Dysinger won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 92nd Oscars. On the sports side, Jeremy Ebobisse plays professional soccer for LAFC, and Tim Kurkjian has become a well-known ESPN baseball reporter. The school also nurtures creative voices through its own publications—The Pitch newspaper, The Spectator literary magazine, and The Windup yearbook—and a full slate of musical ensembles including the Madrigals, Jazz Ensemble, and the WJ STAGE production company.

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