I have a freshman at WL. Have to say the intensified bio teacher my kid had ran an amazing show. My kid hates science fair projects and she managed it and scaffolded it and guided in a way that made it totally do-able. He didn’t submit his project but it was totally legit and might have moved along. Wondering if she is part of the difference?

It probably also helps that the IB science classes require science projects. They don't have to also submit to VJAS but it's not that much more work to do so.

I would say that WL had the large presence this year and not TJ

TJ MS always has a large presence at VJAS which, I believe, carries over to high school.
When my dd did it at WL, there wasn’t a class, but a mentor teacher who helped (somewhat) with the process. The science teachers at TJ were the ones who helped her learn the process. They had an after school club (or yellow jacket period) that taught them what they needed to submit a project that would get accepted.

There were a ton of entries form WL and few from elsewhere at APS. Is there a particular class or program for this at WL?