Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

college-preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or parochial school, parochial schools primaril ...

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

al high school in

Olney, Maryland Olney is a U.S. census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C. Olney was largely agricultural unti ...

, an unincorporated area of

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. It is located in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...

. Operated under the sponsorship of the

Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. Hist ...

, Our Lady of Good Counsel serves students grades nine through twelve. The school was founded in 1958 as an all-boys school in Wheaton, Maryland. In 1988, the school became coeducational, and during the 2006-2007 school year, the school relocated to a new campus in Olney, Maryland, about north of its previous location in Wheaton, Maryland. The faculty consists of 200 teachers, counselors and administrators. 70 percent of the teachers hold advanced degrees. In September 1993 and 2002, Good Counsel High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Secondary Education by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

. The school is fully accredited by the

Middle States Association The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atla ...

. On July 1, 2011, Paul Barker took the helm as president after former Xaverian brother, Art Raimo, moved on from his position after serving 15 years as the president and another 18 years as a teacher/staff member at Good Counsel. Alumnus Tom Campbell '93, became principal on July 1, 2013, following the retirement of Jack Graham.

Academics

Good Counsel High School offers both

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses, the STEM Program, and the

International Baccalaureate Program The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...

. The school offers classes in three tracks: Honors, College Prep, or Ryken. The Ryken Program is geared towards students with mild learning differences and is named after Theodore Ryken, founder of the

Religious life

As a

sponsored school, Good Counsel has an active campus ministry. Students are required to take four years of religious studies classes, as well as participate in religious retreats. The school chaplain offers a daily Mass as well as all-school Masses on major religious holidays. Students and faculty participate as altar servers, readers, Eucharistic ministers, and choir members. All students are required to complete a certain number of community service hours each year, for a total of 80 hours upon graduation.

Fine arts

All Good Counsel students are required to fulfill at least one art credit before graduation. The school offers Theatre, Band, Chorus, Dance, and Visual Arts. Good Counsel's visual arts program begins with the Art Fundamentals course and includes courses that focus on drawing, sculpting, and artwork in other mediums. The school has musical ensembles including a wind ensemble, symphonic band, string ensemble, beginning and advanced percussion ensembles, jazz ensemble, and a marching band. The school's theater program performs two mainstage productions a year. A 700-seat performing arts center opened in the spring of 2016. Every year, for the past several years, Good Counsel's Theatre productions have received a five-star rating from the DC Metro Theatre Arts Magazine, including their presentation of

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

Athletics

Good Counsel has many of the area's top-ranked athletic teams and is recognized as a regional and national powerhouse for both boys' and girls' sports. GC has collected over 60 championship titles in the past decade. Many of their talented student-athletes have continued at the collegiate level and have received athletic scholarships at notable colleges and universities. Good Counsel has most recently won, or has been a finalist for, the WCAC championship title in the following sports: * Football * Girls' Lacrosse * Boys' Cross Country * Girls' Soccer * Wrestling * Swimming * Girls' Field Hockey * Boys' Track * Girls' Basketball * Girls' Volleyball * Boys' Baseball * Girls' Cheerleading Both the men's and women's swim teams are traditionally, among the best in the Washington area. The women's team won 13 straight Metro titles from 1997-2009. The varsity ice hockey team won the MAPHL (Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League) Varsity A championship game in 2013 and 2015. The team also boasts a championship in 2002-2003 in the MSHL (Maryland State Hockey League). New in 2014, is the Good Counsel Equestrian Team, which successfully competes throughout the year.

Notable alumni

Good Counsel has many notable alumni, recognizing them annually with a Distinguished Alumni award. The football team has also had many players make it to the NFL. * Rev. Robert B. Lawton, S.J., Ph.D. 1965 – President,

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

. * Al Checchi 1966 – former Chairman of

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

and California gubernatorial candidate. *

Marty Hurney Marty Hurney (born December 20, 1955) is an American football executive who is the executive vice president of football for player personnel for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an administ ...

1974 – American football executive. * John Berry 1977 – United States Ambassador to Australia. *

Kevin Blackistone Kevin Blackistone (born October 17, 1959) is an American sports journalist and professor for Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, as well as a frequent panelist for ESPN's ''Around the Horn''. On radio, he appears a ...

1977 – columnist,

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

; panelist, ESPN ''Around The Horn''. * Joseph Curl 1978 – Columnist, White House correspondent, The Washington Times. Editor, The Drudge Report. *

Mark Povinelli Mark Povinelli (born August 9, 1971) is an American stage, television and movie actor who also does occasional stunt work. Povinelli is also a noted social activist advocating for the rights of others with dwarfism. In June 2017 Povinelli was el ...

1989 – actor, ''

Water for Elephants ''Water for Elephants'' is the third novel by the Canadian–American author Sara Gruen. The book was published in 2006 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. The historical fiction novel is a 20th century circus drama. Gruen wrote the book as part ...

'' (2011 film), ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

''. *

Rick Yune Rick Yune (born August 22, 1971) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer and martial artist of Korean descent. His most notable roles have been in the movies ''Snow Falling on Cedars'', the first '' Fast and Furious'' film ''The Fast an ...

1989 – actor, ''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' and ''

Die Another Day ''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film st ...

'' (James Bond villain), a graduate of Wharton School (Penn), cousin of NBA star Jeremy Lin. *

Zach Hilton Zachary Thomas Hilton (born July 2, 1980) is an American football Offensive specialist who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at North Carolina. College career Hilton attend ...

1998 – former NFL player with

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

2003–2005 and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

2006; graduated from

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. * Chas Gessner 1999 – professional football player, member of 2003 Super Bowl champion

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. *

Roger Mason Jr. Roger Philip Mason Jr. (born September 10, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He is the former deputy executive director of the NBA Players Association. He is the former president and commissioner of Big3. Early career M ...

1999 – NBA player for 7 different teams; graduated from

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

; Executive Vice President of

NBA Players Association The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is a labor union that represents National Basketball Association (NBA) players. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major professional sports leagues in the Unit ...

. *

James Gist James Clough Gist III (born October 26, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Bahçeşehir Koleji S.K., Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and Basketball Champions League. Standing at , he plays as a Power for ...

2004 – 2008 second-round draft pick for NBA's

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

; player for Greek professional basketball powerhouse

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

; graduated from

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. *

Jelani Jenkins Jelani M. Jenkins (born March 13, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Florida. High school career Jenki ...

2009 – 2013 fourth-round draft pick for NFL's

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, linebacker for

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

; graduate of

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. * Lou Young 2010 – undrafted free agent signed in 2014 by NFL's

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

; defensive back for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. *

Rodney Glasgow Jr. Rodney Glasgow Jr. (born 23 October 1992) is an American-British basketball player for the Sheffield Sharks of the British Basketball League (BBL). After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute, he went on to play professionally in Europe ...

2010 - professional basketball player for

Sheffield Sharks The Sheffield Sharks, currently known as "B.Braun Sheffield Sharks" for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball team from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The Sharks play in the British Basketball League and play thei ...

. *

Blake Countess Blake Countess (born August 8, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for Michigan, using three years of eligibility between 2011 and 2014. He ...

2011 – 2016 sixth-round pick by NFL's

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

; defensive back for

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. *

Stefon Diggs Stefon Marsean Diggs (born November 29, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round ...

2012 – WR for NFL’s

; 2015 fifth-round pick by NFL's

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

; WR and KR for

; ACC Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up. *

Jack Conger John "Jack" Peet Conger (born September 26, 1994) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in butterfly and freestyle events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de ...

2013 – Rio de Janeiro

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

4 × 200 meter freestyle relay gold medalist; national high school record holder for the 500-yard freestyle. *

Kendall Fuller Kendall Christopher Fuller (born February 13, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Washington Commanders ...

2013 – 2016 third-round pick by NFL's

; defensive back for

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

; ACC Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year; Super Bowl LIV Champion with NFL’s

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. *

Dorian O'Daniel Dorian O'Daniel (born September 4, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson. Professional career O'Daniel attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and ...

2013 – 2018 third-round pick by NFL's

; linebacker for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

; winner of 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship; Super Bowl LIV Champion. *

Margaret Purce Margaret Melinda Williams-Purce (born September 18, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breake ...

2013 – current member of senior

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

and

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

of the NWSL. Drafted with the 9th pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft by the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

and former member of the Portland Thorns. Elected to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's Board of Overseers. * Kyle Snyder 2014 – wrestler, 2016, 2017 and 2018 NCAA heavyweight champion, 2015, 2017 world champion; Rio de Janeiro

97 kg freestyle gold medalist. *

Imani Dorsey Imani Michelle Dorsey (born March 21, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic High School in Olney, Mar ...

2014 – current member of senior

and

of the NWSL. Drafted by Sky Blue FC with the 5th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft and later named 2018 NWSL Rookie of the Year. *

Sam Mustipher Sam Mustipher (born August 13, 1996) is an American football center for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2019. High ...

2014 - undrafted free agent signed in 2019 by NFL's

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

; center for Notre Dame. * Uche Eke 2015 - Tokyo

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Gymnastics event participant for Nigeria. * Nicole Enabosi 2015 - professional basketball player for MBK Ružomberok. * Keandre Jones 2016 - undrafted free agent signed in 2020 by NFL's

; linebacker for

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. * Lindsey Pulliam 2017 - professional basketball player for Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor. Drafted by the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

in the third round of the 2021 WNBA Draft. * Josh Paschal 2017 - 2022 second-round pick by NFL's

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

; defensive end for

The University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

; named to 2021 All-SEC football team.

External links

Official website

Notes and references

* https://www.olgchs.org/aboutgc/history.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady Of Good Counsel High School (Montgomery County, Maryland) Olney, Maryland Catholic secondary schools in Maryland Schools sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers Educational institutions established in 1958 International Baccalaureate schools in Maryland Private high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland 1958 establishments in Maryland