The Heights School
The Heights School
Address
10400 Seven Locks Road Potomac , Maryland 20854-4085 United States
Coordinates	39°1′42″N 77°9′52″W / 39.02833°N 77.16444°W / 39.02833; -77.16444
Information
Type	Private, day
Motto	"Crescite" (grow; increase, multiply (Genesis 1:28))
Religious affiliation(s)	[[Catholic ]]
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	1969
School district	Independent
Headmaster	Alvaro de Vicente
Chaplain	Rev. Diego Daza[1] Rev. Rene Schatteman[2]
Faculty	62.1 (FTE)[3]
Grades	3–12
Gender	Boys
Enrollment	538[3] (2017–18)
Student to teacher ratio	8.7:1[3]
Color(s)	Red and white
Slogan	"Men Fully Alive"
Song	"To The Heights"
Athletics conference	Washington Catholic Athletic Conference
Mascot	Cavalier
Team name	Cavaliers
Accreditation	AdvancED[4]
Newspaper	The Heights Herald
Affiliation	Opus Dei
Website	www.heights.edu

The Heights School is a preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12 in Potomac, Maryland, United States. Its mission is to assist parents in the intellectual, spiritual, and physical education of their sons. The Heights School offers a liberal arts curriculum in English, mathematics, classics, history, religion, science, Spanish, art, computers, and music.^[5]

As of 2017–2018, the school had an enrollment of 538 kids and 62.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 8.7.^[3] Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church, supervises the school's religious orientation and spiritual formation. The local church authority, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, however, does not include the Heights in their list of Catholic schools.^[6][7] Still, the faculty for the Catholic doctrine program as well as the curriculum are reviewed and approved by the Archdiocese of Washington.^{[8][better source needed]}

Athletics

The Heights School currently has 13 different sports teams : cross country, golf, soccer, basketball, squash, swimming, wrestling, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, track and field, rugby, and rock climbing.

The Heights School is known for fielding especially strong soccer teams. Products of The Heights program include former national team and professional player Freddy Adu. Players from The Heights are often recruited by top programs.

In the fall of 2018 – the first year of membership in the WCAC – The Heights varsity soccer team won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship following their undefeated season. The team was ranked #16 in the nation, and #2 in The Washington Post rankings. The Heights followed that incredible inaugural season with another WCAC conference championship in 2023, in which they finished 17-1-1, allowing just five goals in conference play and none during the postseason; the team ranked #1 in The Washington Post rankings.

The Heights also has a successful rock climbing team, which competes in the Washington Area Interscholastic Climbing League (WAICL). The league competes at indoor rock climbing gyms across the Washington DC metropolitan area, focusing on bouldering and top rope. Within the WAICL, the Heights fielded the top championship teams during the 2017/2018 and 2023/2024 seasons.

History

A group of Catholic laymen, many belonging to the Prelature of Opus Dei ("Work of God"), founded the Heights as a middle school in Northwest Washington, D.C. in 1969. Among these was author and parenting expert James Stenson.

In 1978, The Heights purchased their campus in Potomac, Maryland and started the lower school.^[9] By 1983, construction of the main building allowed the entire school, grades three through twelve, to be united on the Potomac campus.^[9]

Scholarships

The Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty scholarship is given once every four years to an outstanding student in honor of William P. G. Blatty, son of the author of The Exorcist and member of the Class of 2005, who died of a heart condition.

Notable alumni

• Freddy Adu, professional soccer player; attended but eventually transferred^[10][11]