Riverdale Baptist 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 ...

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

located in

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

, serving students from

Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool o ...

to 12. It is located in

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

, and is accredited through

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools 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 educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

and the

Association of Christian Schools International The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an association of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. History ACSI was founded in 1978 through the merger of three as ...

History

Riverdale Baptist School was founded in 1971 as a daughter ministry of Riverdale Baptist Church under the leadership of Reverend Fitzpatrick. The first year, RBS had an enrollment of 188 students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and was renting facilities from a local Catholic school. With the school growing at a rapid pace, 156 acres on Largo Road in Upper Marlboro, MD was purchased in 1974. The 70,000 square foot educational building opened in 1975 with the 2300 seat church sanctuary following shortly thereafter. Over the years, RBS has added a basketball and volleyball gymnasium featuring a weight room and film room, baseball and softball diamonds, and lastly the RBS SportsPlex. The RBS SportsPlex features a regulation 8-lane track with an artificial turf football/soccer field with seating for 500+ and a grass practice field.

Programs

Riverdale Baptist School is in its 5th year of offering a 1:1 technology program, featuring Apple laptops (high school) and iPads (middle and elementary school) for each student. There are also dedicated computer labs for elementary, middle and high school featuring Apple computers and Dell monitors. The campus features state-of-the-art WiFi to ensure that all students are able to access cloud resources effectively throughout the school day. The tech initiative allowed RBS to be one of the only schools in the tri-state area to continue to educate its students without interruption when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in early 2020. The elementary program at Riverdale Baptist School emphasizes spiritual precepts, character building, and the skills and concepts necessary to academic advancement. These self-contained classrooms follow a carefully selected curriculum of learning in Bible, language skills,

spelling Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, math,

handwriting Handwriting is the writing done with a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil, in the hand. Handwriting includes both printing and cursive styles and is separate from formal calligraphy or typeface A typeface (or font family) is ...

, science and

heritage studies Heritage studies looks at the relationship between people and tangible and intangible heritage through the use of social science research methods. The publication of the book by David Lowenthal, ''The Past is a Foreign Country'', in 1985 is credi ...

. The middle school program emphasizes strong academics as well as an expanding Fine Arts program. The school day consists of a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

class, four academic classes (

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

), physical education, and one elective. Riverdale Baptist high school program emphasizes 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 public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

curriculum with honors and

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 offered to academically qualified students. Over 50% of the high school student body maintains a 3.0

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

in an intensive academic program that includes developing solid Christian character. On average, 98% of the schools seniors are accepted into four year colleges and universities each year.

Faculty and mission

Faculty members are all dedicated

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

who have a calling to minister in Christian Education. They have earned degrees from reputable

Bible colleges A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological ed ...

Christian college A Christian college is an educational institution or part of an educational institute dedicated to the integration of Christian faith and learning in traditional academic fields. Christian colleges in the United States Many Christian college ...

s, and

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

universities from across the nation. They are active in Church activities and

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

. Throughout the school year, days are set aside for attending conventions, conferences and in-house workshops to enrich and provide teacher development. Mission statement: Riverdale Baptist school exists for the purpose of providing the opportunity for all students to develop a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive a Christ-centered Biblically-based education.

Notable alumni

Shakira Austin Shakira Austin (born July 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Maryland and Ole Miss. Playing career College care ...

, WNBA Player *

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Univers ...

Professional Basketball Player *

Christian Darrisaw Christian Darrisaw (born June 2, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of th ...

, Professional Football Player *

Olandis Gary Olandis C. Gary (born May 18, 1975) is a former American football running back who played for the Denver Broncos from 1999 to 2002 and the Detroit Lions from 2003 to 2004. He is an alumnus of the University of Georgia and Riverdale Baptist Schoo ...

, Professional Football Player *

Zion Johnson Zion Johnson (born November 18, 1999) is an American football guard for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Davidson before transferring to Boston College where was named an All-Amer ...

, Professional Football Player *

Jonquel Jones Jonquel Orthea Jones (born January 5, 1994) is a Bahamian-Bosnian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. S ...

, WNBA Player * Zech McPhearson Professional Football Player *

Chinanu Onuaku Chinanu Michael Onuaku (born November 1, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Joventut Badalona of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. In 2021–22, he led the Israeli Basketball Pre ...

(born 1996), basketball player *

Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overa ...

, Professional Basketball Player * Wanisha Smith, WNBA Player * Devin Sweetney, Professional Basketball Player

References

{{authority control Baptist schools in the United States Baptist Christianity in Maryland Christian schools in Maryland Private elementary schools in Maryland Private middle schools in Maryland Private high schools in Maryland Schools in Prince George's County, Maryland Preparatory schools in Maryland 1971 establishments in Maryland Educational institutions established in 1971