Though the start of a new school year traditionally means the addition of new students, this year’s large freshman class and the notable rise in transfer students have sent the WS population well over the school’s capacity.
As a result of the influx, the school population is beyond its capacity of around 2450 students, reaching around 2750 students as of early September. According to Counselor Elizabeth Wahl, the population is much larger than the student services team had initially expected for the 2023-2024 school year.
“We get a lot of registrations during the summer. We had a lot more this year than we were actually expecting,” said Wahl. “We were projected to be just under 2600 students this year. At our date of enrollment, we were at 2724. I think we are almost at 2750 now.”
The reason for a substantial influx of new students each year could be due to the academic opportunity the school offers. With a 60% AP® participation rate and 99% graduation rate according to US News and World Report, WS students produce above average test scores and generally perform well in school.
“84% of our seniors last year went to a two or four year college. Parents who are looking for the futures of their students are seeing that this is a nice path,” said Wahl.
Along with their academic success, WS students are heavily involved with the school community as well, with student participation in various sports and clubs being one of principal Michael Mukai’s points of pride.
“We have such a great community, we have a lot of support, we have a high level of student involvement. There are schools that struggle to get certain activities to be functional,” said Mukai.

“We have so many opportunities to pursue your passions.”
Having strong extracurricular involvement is a significant part of the college admissions process. Some transfer students are excited by the idea of having over 80 activities/sports to choose from, including unique special interest clubs and co-curricular organizations paired with certain electives.
“I definitely think WS has more opportunities than my last school. WS allows you to try so many different things that it’s difficult for me to pick what I want to do,” said sophomore Lauren Gange, who transferred this fall. “When I moved here, my parents chose the house we are currently living in based on the schools it was zoned for. Therefore, I’m going to WS, my brother is going to Irving, and my sister is going to Sangster.”
A significant number of transfer students have historically belonged to military families. due to the school’s close location to Fort Belvoir and the Pentagon. Wahl believes that social media among military families has influenced many parents to place their students at WS rather than other schools in the county.
“I think we have a really good reputation within some of these parent Facebook groups. Specifically talking about military students and families, they are all talking to each other,” said Wahl. “From what I’ve heard, WS is one of the most recommended places in those groups for people who aren’t from the area.”
The staff itself may be a factor in the strong reputation of WS among families moving into the area. Mukai believes that having supportive teachers is a key aspect of a quality education.
“We have an atmosphere where the teachers are so supportive, they do a great job, you get a great education, even our teachers want their children to come here,” said Mukai.
Another incentive among transfer students is the positive environment created by the staff and students in comparison to their previous high schools. Some students believe the environment is just as important of a factor as the academic opportunity offered by a school.
“My old school wasn’t the best. It had a lot of academic opportunities, but the school itself didn’t have that many good people,” said junior Abigail Haileyesus, who transferred from another high school in FCPS this fall. “I feel like everybody [at WS] seems friendly and it seems comforting.”
According to Wahl, the student services team works hard towards the end of summer and into the beginning of the school year to welcome transfers by providing them with all of the information that they may need. Additionally, the student ambassadors program is heavily used to form connections with new students from day one.
“We have a student ambassadors club. We have specific students who were on a panel this year of what questions that they wish they knew when they were new,” said Wahl. “The process on a student’s first day is that they will come down here to student services, we connect them with a student ambassador, and then the student ambassador is their person who takes them to get their laptop and takes them to their classes and gives them a little tour.”
Mukai enjoys seeing growth in the school community and hopes that WS is a school where everyone can feel welcome.
“I think every kid in the county should want to go to WS,” said Mukai. “We want to be a school where everyone would want to come here rather than where they are. It’s a good sign when people want to come.”