Washington Christian Academy

Washington Christian Academy

Reverent, Adventurous, Academically Serious: in the Historic Reformed Tradition
Location
Olney, Maryland
Coordinates 39°07′16″N 77°04′09″W / 39.12111°N 77.06917°W / 39.12111; -77.06917Coordinates: 39°07′16″N 77°04′09″W / 39.12111°N 77.06917°W / 39.12111; -77.06917
Information
Type Private
Established 1960
Headmaster Dave Hawes
Grades K-12
Campus Suburban
Campus size 60 acres (24 ha)
Color(s) White, Blue
Team name Wildcats
Website http://www.washingtonchristian.org

Washington Christian Academy (WCA) is a private Christian school originally established in 1960 and presently located in Olney, Maryland at a new campus that was finished in 2008. The school is known for its reverent, adventurous, and academically serious education in the historic Reformed tradition, as well as its tightly-knit community that has been developing over the past 50-plus years of its existence.

Washington Christian Academy is currently a member of Christian Schools International.

History

Formation

Washington Christian Academy was formed when local families from Presbyterian and Christian Reformed churches in the area felt the need for a strong, biblically based and diverse school in the Washington, DC area. For the time, the school defied cultural values and created a school that specifically named diversity as one of its top qualities.[1] The school was formed as Washington Christian School in 1960 for grades K-4. WCS grew gradually, and in 1982 it leased a larger building from the county on Franwall Avenue in Silver Spring which allowed it to add a middle school and offer instruction through the eighth grade. WCS expanded again in 1996 when it merged with the nearby Silver Spring Christian Academy (a local high school formed by parents of WCS alumni), forming Washington Christian Academy (Pre K-12).[2]

Transition

During the 2004-2005 school year, Washington Christian Academy was notified that it would need to leave the rented facility the following year as the building was to be torn down to construct a new public school. For the three years from the fall of 2005 through the spring of 2008, Washington Christian Academy rented space for its elementary school in Colesville Baptist Church off of New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring and likewise rented space for the middle and high schools in Global Mission Church on Georgia Avenue in nearby Aspen Hill. During this transition period, Washington Christian Academy was able to purchase land and build a new facility, which opened in the summer of 2008.

WCA's building and grounds, 2009

New Campus

Washington Christian Academy opened its newly constructed facility in Olney for the fall semester of 2008. The new building provided the school with a drastic increase in available space and opportunity for future expansion. While it is in a beautiful, seemingly remote location on the outskirts of Olney, it is a short three mile (5 km) drive to the heart of the area and right next to Georgia Avenue – a major local traffic artery – and the Intercounty Connector.[3] The new WCA property is 57.63 acres (23.32 ha)[4] with about 22 acres (8.9 ha) currently developed including the new building, gym, baseball and soccer fields and parking areas. In 2016, the soccer field was able to get a new state of the art scoreboard also the flooring of the gym was redone. The school was able to get enlarge their parking around the soccer field making more space for visitors coming to the school.

Athletics

WCA Wildcat

With the opening of its new Olney campus, WCA also gained a number of modern athletic facilities, including a gymnasium with a hardwood basketball court and seating for up to 300, a multi-purpose athletic field employed for soccer and numerous other sports and a baseball field.

WCA offers the following sports: boys soccer, girls soccer, girls volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, cheerleading, baseball, softball, coed track team, coed cross country team and coed golf. WCA has competed in the Maryland Independent Schools Athletic League for many years, but have now accepted provisional membership into the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference for the 2012-2013 school year. Many teams have had success in the MISAL and hope to continue that success in the PVAC.

The WCA Men's Varsity soccer in 2010-11 won the championship game and brought glory to the school. Led by Captains Daniel Padilla and Aaron Sherman, the MVP goalkeeper Ryan Olthoff, and the top forwards in the league Christopher Korte, Christopher Carter, and David Lim, they defeated Calverton and returned the trophy to WCA.

In recent years, WCA teams have won the following:

2016-2017

Varsity Girls Soccer PVAC Division Champions

Varsity Boys Soccer PVAC Division Champions

Varsity Boys Soccer PVAC League Championship Winners

Varsity Boys Soccer Maryland Christian State Tournament Runner-Up


2015-2016

Varsity Boys Soccer Division Champions


2014-2015

Varsity Softball League Runner-Up


2013-2014

Varsity Volleyball Conference Runner-Up

Varsity Boys Soccer Conference Runner-Up

Varsity Softball League Championship


2012-2013

Varsity Girls Soccer Conference Championship


2011-2012

Varsity Softball League Championship

Varsity Volleyball League Championship

Middle School Boys Basketball League Championship


2010-2011

Varsity Boys Soccer League Championship

Middle School Baseball League Championship


2009-2010

Varsity Boys Basketball League Championship

Varsity Girls Basketball MCST D1 Championship

Varsity Girls Basketball League Championship

Varsity Softball League Championship

Middle School Boys Basketball League Championship

2008-2009

Varsity Boys Basketball MCST D1 Championship

Varsity Softball League Championship

See also

References

  1. ↑ "WCA Transcends Racial Boundaries: Why WCA
  2. ↑ http://washingtonchristian.org/page05a2.shtml
  3. ↑ The Future at WCA, Phase 1. Information about the first phase of the new WCA campus
  4. ↑ Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Real Property Data Search
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