As Charles W. Woodward High School prepares to reopen in fall 2027, nearly 40 years after closing, the school is beginning a new chapter in a history that has long been intertwined with neighboring Walter Johnson High School. The two schools have shared students, traditions and even a mascot, with their histories dating back to the rapid growth of Montgomery County’s suburban Bethesda and Rockville communities in the 1950s and 1960s.
Walter Johnson High School opened in 1956 on Rock Spring Drive, named after legendary Washington Senators pitcher and Montgomery County resident Walter “The Big Train” Johnson. The school was originally known as the Spartans, a mascot that would eventually be replaced through an unusual connection to another high school that had not yet opened.
In 1963, Walter Johnson students painted a large cow on the school’s chimney, a reference to the dairy farms that once occupied much of the surrounding area. The cow became known as the “Mighty Moo” and developed into one of the school’s most recognizable traditions.
A decade after Walter Johnson opened, Charles W. Woodward High School welcomed its first students in 1966 along Old Georgetown Road, just a short distance away. The school was named after Judge Charles W. Woodward, who served on the Montgomery County Circuit Court and presided over the landmark 1937 Gibbs v. Broome case. In that case, a young Thurgood Marshall represented William B. Gibbs Jr. in challenging the pay disparity between Black and white MCPS teachers. The case resulted in an agreement to equalize teacher salaries.
Woodward established its own identity as the Wildcats, with purple and white school colors. Its guiding principles of “Rights, Respect, and Responsibility” were established by Judge Woodward as a variation on the traditional “three Rs.”
For more than two decades, Walter Johnson and Woodward operated as separate high schools, serving neighboring communities and developing their own traditions, athletic programs and school identities. That changed in 1987.
With enrollment declining, Montgomery County Public Schools consolidated the two schools, closing Woodward as an independent high school and moving its students to Walter Johnson’s campus. The consolidation brought together two student bodies with different histories and traditions. As part of the effort to recognize both schools, the combined school retained the Walter Johnson name and its green and white colors but adopted Woodward’s Wildcats mascot, replacing the Spartans. Walter Johnson’s Mighty Moo tradition also remained, creating a school identity that continues to reflect elements of both original schools.
Although Woodward closed in 1987, its building continued serving Montgomery County students. The facility was used as temporary space for Springbrook High School during renovations and became the home of Tilden Middle School in 1991. Tilden remained there for nearly three decades before moving to its renovated campus in 2020. The original Woodward building was subsequently demolished to make way for an entirely new high school facility at 11211 Old Georgetown Road.
Since fall 2024, the new building has served as the temporary home of Northwood High School while Northwood’s Silver Spring campus undergoes a major reconstruction. Northwood is scheduled to remain at Woodward through the end of the 2026-2027 school year before returning to its own campus.
Once Northwood departs, Woodward will reopen as an independent high school in fall 2027, exactly 40 years after its closure. The reopening also presents an unusual situation for the two schools. Walter Johnson will continue using the Wildcats mascot that originally belonged to Woodward, while Woodward will return with an entirely new mascot of its own.
On October 26, Principal Bob Sinclair introduced the Woodward Wolves following a community selection process that included more than 110 mascot suggestions and more than 900 community votes. The new school’s colors will be purple, white and gold, retaining Woodward’s original purple and white while incorporating gold as an accent.
MCPS recently shared additional details about the process, explaining that many Woodward alumni had hoped to restore the original Wildcats mascot. However, with incoming students arriving from several school communities, Sinclair wanted to recognize the school’s history while allowing the next generation to establish its own identity.
“Woodward has a very active and proud alumni community, and many alumni still live in the area,” Sinclair said. “Working with them, I have learned how close this community was and still is.” The new Wolves logo includes several references to the school’s past. The shield version features the letters “CWW,” reflecting how the original school was known, while a patch of gold fur between the wolf’s eyes forms the letter “W” for Woodward. “Woodward is part of this wolf’s DNA,” Sinclair said.
Woodward is expected to initially welcome ninth and tenth grade students when it reopens in 2027, with those students becoming the school’s first classes in four decades. Nearly seven decades after Walter Johnson first opened and six decades after Woodward welcomed its first students, the two schools will once again operate independently, each carrying traditions shaped by their shared history.
