Montrose Christian School was 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 ...

North Bethesda, Maryland North Bethesda is an unincorporated, census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located just north-west of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 50,094 as of the 2020 census. Among its neighb ...

, with a Rockville postal address. It was formerly operated by the Montrose Baptist Church, Maryland's second largest

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

church. It educated around 370

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s before its closure in 2013. Its first Senior High School class graduated in 1986.

Early history

The history of Montrose Christian School is intimately connected with its parent organization, Montrose Baptist Church. While Montrose Baptist Church had established a nursery school in 1968 and a daycare in 1971, it recognized an opportunity to further its evangelical mission through the development of a full-time day

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

. On April 30, 1977, Montrose Christian School was officially incorporated in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

. Starting with an inaugural

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

class of five children, it quickly expanded the next year to include Grades 1-4. During each subsequent year, another grade or two was added until eventually in May 1986, it graduated its first class of High School students.

Athletics

The school had been recognized for its athletic accomplishments, particularly for those of its basketball team, which had been successful at recruiting players across the United States and around the world to play in Rockville.Zengerle, Jason
"The Portable High-School Hoops Factory"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 6, 2000. Accessed December 1, 2007.

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

's transfer to the school led ''

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'' to name Montrose its preseason pick for the top spot on its Super 25 rankings of the top high school basketball teams in 2005-06. The school had appeared regularly on ''

s Super 25 national rankings, finishing the season ranked 25th in 2000-01, 9th in 2002-03, 19th in 2003-04, 19th in 2005-06 and 22nd in 2006-07.

Controversies

The school was embroiled in a lawsuit, in February 1997, involving three employees, represented by the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, who said they were fired for not belonging to the school's parent church. While a judge initially ruled in the favor of the dismissed employees, the decision was later overturned on appeal in 2001 based on the argument that ''"'for a religious corporation, association, or society to hire and employ employees of a particular religion,' is severable and valid." '' Reverend Ray Hope, a.k.a. Dr. Otis Ray Hope, senior

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at the Montrose Baptist Church, resigned in October 2002 after questioning by the church's governing council about his involvement with the Maryland International Students Association, an organization that recruited foreign students attending Montrose Christian School. Officials for the school's parent church alleged that the recruiting organization had failed to reimburse the school for the cost of the students' education; that Rev. Ray Hope owed the church's school more than $580,000. In February 2012 a female teacher at Montrose Christian School was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a student for a period of over one year. Due to fiscal mismanagement, the school had suffered from financial difficulties in its later years and had 16 liens placed against its properties.

Notable alumni

* Justin Anderson (born 1993), professional basketball player * Miguel "Ali" Berdiel (born 1983), is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player *

Jarrell Brantley Jarrell Isaiah Brantley (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Nagasaki Velca of the B.League. He played college basketball for the College of Charleston Cougars. College career As a junior, Brantley averaged 17 ...

(born 1996), basketball player * Jason Conley (born 1981), the first freshman ever to lead NCAA Division I in scoring *

(born 1988), professional basketball player for the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

* Tyrone Johnson (born 1992), professional basketball player. *

Linas Kleiza Linas Kleiza (; born January 3, 1985) is a Lithuanian professional basketball executive and former player. Standing at , he played at the small forward and power forward positions. In 2010, he was the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy w ...

(born 1985), professional basketball player * K.J. Matsui (born 1985), played guard on the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

basketball team, and was the first

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese born NCAA Division I player *

Patrick McCaw Patrick Andrew McCaw (born October 25, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and earned second-team all-conference honors in t ...

(born 1995), professional basketball player for the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

Terrence Ross Terrence James Elijah Ross (born February 5, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies, where he was a first-te ...

(born 1991), professional basketball player for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

* Greivis Vasquez (born 1987), professional basketball player, and Venezuela national teamTysiac, Ken. **

Yuki Togashi is a Japanese professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chiba Jets Funabashi of the B.League in Japan. Early life Born in Shibata, Niigata, Togashi moved to the United States in 2009 where he attended Montrose Christian School ...

(born 1992), Japanese professional basketball player
"Q&A with Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez"
''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', November 29, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007."Q: What was Kevin Durant like when you played with him at Montrose Christian?"

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Private K-12 schools in Montgomery County, Maryland Baptist schools in the United States Baptist Christianity in Maryland North Bethesda, Maryland Christian schools in Maryland Educational institutions established in 1977 Educational institutions disestablished in 2013 1977 establishments in Maryland 2013 disestablishments in Maryland Religion in Rockville, Maryland