Bishop McNamara High School (BMHS, McNamara, or Mac) is a private,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

coed 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 ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Forestville CDP in unincorporated

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

.2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Forestville CDP, MD
"

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. Pages
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an
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The school is in the Holy Cross tradition offering a

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

curriculum and a range of Fine Arts, athletics and activities. Founded in 1964 by the

Congregation of Holy Cross The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, n ...

, Bishop McNamara is located on a 14-acre campus in

Forestville, Maryland Forestville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,831. The community ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, just 7 miles south of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, serving students ranging from six different

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

counties,

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

and the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and is part of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church for the District of Columbia and several Maryland counties in the United States. The Archdiocese of Washington is home to the Ca ...

. The school bears the name of Bishop John Michael McNamara, a former auxiliary bishop to the Archbishops of Baltimore and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and the founder of St. Gabriel's parish in Washington, D.C.

History

Built on a site adjacent to Mount Calvary Catholic Church on Marlboro Pike in

, Bishop McNamara High School is a result of Msgr. Peter Paul Rakowski's plan to build a

for boys, and one for girls in the southern part of

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

. To that end, in 1962, Patrick A. O'Boyle, archbishop of Washington, D.C., extended an invitation to the Brothers of Holy Cross to administer and staff the new high school, which would serve the county and parts of Washington, DC. Bishop McNamara High School admitted its first classes (freshman and sophomore) of 334 boys in 1964. In the academic year 1992–93, the school became co-educational when it accepted girls from La Reine High School, an all girls' school in nearby

Suitland Suitland is a suburb of Washington, D.C., approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. Suitland is a census designated place (CDP), as of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Suitland ...

that had been closed. Enrollment at both schools had been dwindling for some years, following a trend in private schools across the county as a result of the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

Academics

Bishop McNamara High School provides a Catholic, college-preparatory education. Bishop McNamara High School provides a variety of courses to help students meet the requirements for college admission or other types of professional preparation. Beyond the core academic courses, Bishop McNamara offers: * Honors courses offered in English, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, Information Technology, Social Studies, and each of the fine arts disciplines. * Advanced Placement courses offered in English Language, English Literature, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Programming, Psychology, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, French, Spanish, U.S. History, Music Theory, Latin, African American Studies, U.S. Government and Politics, and foreign language literature when there is sufficient student interest.

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts Department at Bishop McNamara offers one of the arts educations in Washington, D.C.. The F.A.D.E. program, Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement, is unique to Bishop McNamara. With band, orchestra, choir, theatre, dance, and visual arts course offerings, Bishop McNamara High School's Fine Arts Department provides opportunities for student participation. The Fine Arts Programs include: * Dance - Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, and Tap ranging from Beginning to Advanced levels; Traditional African Dance & Music I through IV, and the Sankofa Company (performing African Dance & Music company). * Music - (Band & Orchestra and Choir) Band & Orchestra: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, String Orchestra, Jazz Lab, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Music Theory; Choir: Concert Choir, Honors Chamber Choir, Honors Madrigal Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and Show Choir * Theater - Introduction To Theatre, Acting, Theatre Technology I & II, Great Stages Of Drama, Senior Seminar, Musical Theatre Production (Fall), Spring Theatre Production * Visual Arts - Color, Drawing & Advanced Drawing, Graphic Design, Digital Photography I & II, and AP Studio Art 2D-Design and AP Drawing. * FADE Program - Students who graduate with the Fine Arts Diploma Endorsement receive a notation on their transcripts and a special honor certificate at graduation. Students have the opportunity to apply for this program at the end of their freshman year, concurrent with the selection of courses for their sophomore year. Students are then given a list of courses, tasks and events to complete in the fine arts by their senior year.

Athletics

Bishop McNamara competes in the

Washington Catholic Athletic Conference The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is a major high school athletic league for boys, girls, and co-ed Catholic high schools of the Archdiocese of Washington & Diocese of Arlington located in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Th ...

at the Varsity and Junior Varsity levels in the following sports: Fall - Football, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, and Cheerleading Winter - Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling, Cheerleading, and Indoor Track Spring - Baseball, Softball, Men's Tennis, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, Track & Field, and Golf Each year student-athletes are selected to the WCAC All-Conference teams, ''Washington Post'' All-Met Teams, Maryland All-State Teams, MSABC All State Team, as well as other national, state and conference awards. In 2013, thirteen student-athletes signed with Division 1 colleges and universities, such as the University of Maryland College Park, Georgia Tech, Fordham University, VCU, UMBC, Sienna College, University of Toledo, Columbia University, University of Tennessee, and George Mason University. Bishop McNamara's women's basketball team has established itself as one of the premier teams in not only the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) but the entire nation as well. In 2005, the team was ranked #1 by ''USA Today'', and the team finished with only one loss in the WCAC semifinals. In the 2007-2008, 2019-2020, and 2024-2025 seasons, the Lady Mustangs became WCAC champions.

Notable alumni

* Waine Bacon –

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

defensive back (2004–2005) * Todd Bozeman –

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

basketball coach * Cameron Chism,

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

player * Brandon Coleman - NFL wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints * Chris Cosh – NCAA

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

* Jerome Couplin III – NFL player *

Timothy Creamer Timothy John "T. J." Creamer (born November 15, 1959) is a NASA flight director, retired astronaut and a colonel in the United States Army. Creamer was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, but considers Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to be his hometown. He ...

–

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut * Tyoka Jackson – NFL player *

Jeff Kinney Jeffrey Patrick Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American author and illustrator. He is best known for creating, writing and illustrating the children's book series ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''. He also created the child-oriented website '' Po ...

– writer of ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and media franchise created by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a dia ...

'' * Ty Lawson -

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player * Jason Reynolds -

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

finalist * Madison Scott - basketball player * Marcus Thornton – basketball player * Keith Veney – NCAA Division I men's basketball record holder for three-pointers made in a single game with 15 * Nicole Yeargin – Olympic medalist (2024) and NCAA Division I sprinter *

Talib Zanna Talib Zanna (born 1 October 1990) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for the Tauranga Whai of the National Basketball League (New Zealand), New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for ...

- basketball player who plays in Bulgaria

References

External links

Bishop McNamara High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Mcnamara High School Catholic secondary schools in Maryland Schools in Prince George's County, Maryland Holy Cross secondary schools Educational institutions established in 1964 1964 establishments in Maryland