APEX Reach has reached its apex.
WJ announced on Feb. 1 that starting in the 2026-27 school year, it will no longer offer its APEX premier accelerated honors + AP course of study to incoming 9th grade students. Principal Nicole Morgan explained in a letter to families that APEX Reach will be replaced with the AP Capstone program, where students take two AP classes (AP Research and AP Seminar) to satisfy the requirements.
The decision comes as 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the APEX program at WJ. Since the program opened in 1996, widespread changes have taken place. The original program consisted of around 30 students total, admitted to the program in 8th grade based on both a minimum score on the PSAT that most students wouldn’t normally take until 10th-11th grade and an essay. Now, the program has around 200 students per grade, admitted based on achieving a 3.5 or higher middle school GPA.
WJ is shutting APEX down due to administrative concerns over the application and admissions process. While enrolling in AP classes is not based on applications, many students are unable to access the APEX program-specific honors courses (freshman Biology and freshman and sophomore English) due to not getting accepted to the program, not applying or coming to WJ from outside of the two main feeder middle schools (Tilden and North Bethesda)..
“With this shift toward an AP Capstone Diploma model, students will continue to have access to the full range of Honors and AP courses based on course prerequisites, not an application or admissions process,” Principal Morgan said in her email to WJ families. “This approach ensures that all students have the opportunity to explore advanced coursework that aligns with their interests, readiness, and long term goals.”
MCPS’s new high school boundaries and the upcoming opening of Woodward High School to the local community will increase options for where students currently zoned to Walter Johnson will go next, and as such, MCPS appears to be prioritizing implementing a standardized program before the new school opens. Woodward is expected to implement the same AP Capstone program, so it will become uniform between the two schools.
“I think the [future] opening of Woodward is a part of why the program is closing, because we’re going to lose a lot of students,” APEX coordinator Nathan Schwartz said. “Because of open enrollment in AP classes, the program isn’t quite as vital as it was 10 or 15 years ago, because everyone is able to take AP classes now. ”
The APEX program did have a clear negative in its selection process that occurred in 8th grade. The new program will allow students to enter high school with a fresh start, and then decide if they would like a further challenge after they have endured their first year.
“With the new AP Capstone program, you’re going to be able to sit in ninth grade and enjoy your first year as you’re figuring things out, and then you’ll have the chance to make a decision,” Schwartz said.
Comments from current and former APEX participants reflect how the program’s growth shifted how students view the social and academic benefits.
“[The original program] was just one class of students,” class of 2000 APEX graduate Amy Feygin said. “It was this cohort kind of approach to the program because we had three core APEX classes that we were together for. I made a ton of close friends, so it made a big high school feel a little bit smaller.”
The APEX program made significant changes around 2021, but the program had been growing since its official starting year. Now, the program includes just two APEX only classes in both freshman and sophomore years. Students have expressed interest in liking the updated program because it’s less of a vast difference between regular coursework and their own.
“I like that now more people can be a part of the program,” APEX senior Abby Bruskin said. “I think in high school your classes shouldn’t all be the same people, so it’s good to have a variety of new people to meet.”
The original program was able to prove to be a big benefit in college admissions. Because of its small size and elite selection, it worked to distinguish students who could work hard beyond honors and just regular AP classes. On the other hand, because of the huge class size of the current program, it is no longer as honorable of a distinction in the process, due to the dulling down of the selection process and the course requirements.
“I would have taken the same classes anyways whether I was part of the program or not, so it really didn’t make a huge difference in my scheduling for the four years, just gave me some requirements for what classes I needed to take, ” APEX junior Lyna Denis said.
Bonds between students have also evolved with the program. With the original smaller cohort, people were really able to meet others and stick with them for the entirety of the four years, while the updated program is much bigger and not as tight-knit.
“Our APEX class was pretty collaborative,” Feygin said. “We were all really good friends. We were all very motivated, so maybe there’s a little bit of competition between each other, but we all liked to study together and support each other.”
It is unclear if history will judge WJ’s APEX Reach as having overreached or underreached. But starting in September, APEX will begin its descent.
