WJ Chemathon emerges as champions:
On Saturday, May 4, the WJ Chemathon level 2 team took 1st place at the annual University of Maryland Chemathon competition. WJ in the past has not done this well at Chemathon before. The level 1 team did not place in the top 10, but they also were successful.
Symphony orchestra wipes the competition:
In their twelfth straight year qualifying for the Maryland State Orchestra Assessment Festival, WJ symphonic orchestra received very high marks. The group’s performance on May 1 garnered four 1’s, the highest rating available, including an impressive 1 in sight reading.
“I thought we performed really well at states, the stage was really dope and it had great acoustics. We got straight 1’s also, which is the highest score you can get, so overall it was a really good event,” junior violinist Michael Clempson said.
MCPS closing graduation disparities:
Amidst talks of increasing diversity throughout MCPS schools, the graduation rate for some minorities has increased, while others are still struggling. The graduation rate for African American students increased by 1.9% over the past two years, while the hispanic/latino rate fell by 2.7% during the same period. Overall, MCPS had a decreasing graduation rate of 1.5% since 2017, and WJ experienced a decrease of 0.6%.
WJ 38th in US News and World Report Maryland rankings:
US News and World Report ranks public high schools across the nation based on college readiness, math/reading proficiency and performance. Walter Johnson was ranked 38th academically in the state of Maryland and 14th in Montgomery County as of 2019. Nearby schools received higher ranks, like Walt Whitman at #1 and Thomas S. Wootton at #2, but some errors were made in the collection of data, such as WJ’s data on reading proficiency not being included. This may have resulted in WJ’s lower ranking than normal.
