Washington Christian Academy
Encyclopedia
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
.
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. 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).
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.
. The new WCA property is 57.63 acres (23.3 ha) with about 22 acres (8.9 ha) currently developed including the new building, gym, baseball and soccer fields and parking areas.
WCA fields a number of boys and girls teams in a variety of sports, including basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and golf. The Varsity Boys Basketball team has seen significant success, with the WCA Wildcats winning the 2008-2009 Maryland Christian School Basketball Tournament and the 2009-2010 MISAL championship.
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.
Olney, Maryland
Olney, a census-designated place and an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, is located in the north central part of the county, twenty miles north of Washington, D.C. It was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when growth of the Washington suburbs led to its conversion into...
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
Christian Schools International
Christian Schools International was established in 1920 and supports Christian school teachers who want Bible-based textbooks for their classrooms, principals and school administrators investigating employee benefit plans, Christian school board members seeking information about governance, and...
.
Formation
Washington Christian Academy was formed when local families from PresbyterianPresbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
and Christian Reformed
Christian Reformed Church in North America
The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed churches of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founded by Gijsbert Haan and Dutch immigrants who left the Reformed Church in...
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. 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
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
on Franwall Avenue in Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
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).
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.http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/arcolaes/ 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 ChurchGlobal Mission Church
Global Mission Church is a Korean megachurch located in Bundang, a suburb of Seoul, South Korea. It was founded on January 1994 by Daniel Dong-Won Lee. As of December 2010, the lead pastor is Peter Chin. The church is actively involved in Evangelism Explosion and in 2008 began its first E.E. in...
on Georgia Avenue in nearby Aspen Hill
Aspen Hill, Maryland
Aspen Hill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It got its name from aspen trees that once were found near the first post office in the area...
. During this transition period, Washington Christian Academy was able to purchase land and build a new facility, which opened in the summer of 2008.
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 ConnectorIntercounty Connector
Maryland Route 200 , more commonly known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is a partially completed toll freeway under construction in Maryland which connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's County. When completed, it will reach the community of Konterra just...
. The new WCA property is 57.63 acres (23.3 ha) with about 22 acres (8.9 ha) currently developed including the new building, gym, baseball and soccer fields and parking areas.
Athletics
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.
See also
- Olney, MarylandOlney, MarylandOlney, a census-designated place and an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, is located in the north central part of the county, twenty miles north of Washington, D.C. It was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when growth of the Washington suburbs led to its conversion into...
- Christian Schools InternationalChristian Schools InternationalChristian Schools International was established in 1920 and supports Christian school teachers who want Bible-based textbooks for their classrooms, principals and school administrators investigating employee benefit plans, Christian school board members seeking information about governance, and...
- Montgomery County, MarylandMontgomery County, MarylandMontgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...