Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (Maryland)

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school in Olney, Maryland, an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Operated under the sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers, Our Lady of Good Counsel serves students grades nine through twelve.

History
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 7 mi north of its previous location in Wheaton, Maryland.

Academics
Good Counsel High School has Advanced Placement courses, a STEM Program, and the International Baccalaureate Program. The school also has the Ryken Program, which is geared towards students with mild learning differences. It is named after Theodore Ryken, founder of the Xaverian Brothers.

The faculty consists of 200 teachers, counselors, and administrators. 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 school is fully accredited by the Middle States Association.

Religious life
Students are required to take four years of religious studies classes as well as participate in religious retreats. There is a daily Mass as well as all-school Masses on major religious holy days. All students are required to complete a certain number of community service hours each year.

Fine arts
The school offers theatre, band, chorus, dance, and visual arts classes. Musical ensembles include 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 650-seat performing arts center opened in 2016. Good Counsel's theatre production of Les Misérables in 2013 received a five-star rating from the DC Metro Theatre Arts Magazine.

Athletics
Good Counsel competes in the WCAC and has many highly ranked athletic teams in the region. Many student-athletes have continued at the collegiate level and have received athletic scholarships at division one schools. The football team has even had several players make it to the NFL.

Notable alumni

 * Rev. Robert B. Lawton, S.J., Ph.D. (1965) – President, Loyola Marymount University.
 * Al Checchi (1966) – former Chairman of Northwest Airlines and California gubernatorial candidate.
 * Marty Hurney (1974) – American football executive.
 * John Berry (1977) – United States Ambassador to Australia.
 * Kevin Blackistone (1977) – columnist, Dallas Morning News; panelist, ESPN Around The Horn.
 * Joseph Curl (1978) – Columnist, White House correspondent, The Washington Times. Editor, The Drudge Report.
 * Mark Povinelli (1989) – actor, Water for Elephants (2011 film), Modern Family, Cold Case.
 * Rick Yune (1989) – actor, The Fast and the Furious and Die Another Day (James Bond villain), a graduate of Wharton School (Penn), cousin of NBA star Jeremy Lin.
 * Zach Hilton (1998) – former NFL player with New Orleans Saints 2003–2005 and New York Jets 2006; graduated from University of North Carolina.
 * Chas Gessner (1999) – professional football player, member of 2003 Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
 * Roger Mason Jr. (1999) – NBA player for 7 different teams; graduated from University of Virginia; Executive Vice President of NBA Players Association.
 * James Gist (2004) – 2008 second-round draft pick for NBA's San Antonio Spurs; player for Greek professional basketball powerhouse Panathinaikos; graduated from University of Maryland.
 * Jelani Jenkins (2009) – 2013 fourth-round draft pick for NFL's Miami Dolphins, linebacker for Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans; graduate of University of Florida.
 * Lou Young (2010) – undrafted free agent signed in 2014 by NFL's Denver Broncos; defensive back for Georgia Tech, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins, and Arizona Cardinals.
 * Rodney Glasgow Jr. (2010) – professional basketball player for Sheffield Sharks.
 * Blake Countess (2011) – 2016 sixth-round pick by NFL's Philadelphia Eagles; defensive back for Los Angeles Rams, University of Michigan and Auburn University.
 * Phylicia Pearl Mpasi (2011) – actress, The Color Purple (2023) and Broadway and National Tour cast member of The Lion King
 * Stefon Diggs (2012) – WR for NFL’s Houston Texans; 2015 fifth-round pick by NFL's Minnesota Vikings; WR and KR for University of Maryland; ACC Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up.
 * Jack Conger (2013) – Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay gold medalist; national high school record holder for the 500-yard freestyle.
 * Kendall Fuller (2013) – 2016 third-round pick by NFL's Washington Redskins; defensive back for Washington Commanders and Virginia Tech; ACC Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year; Super Bowl LIV Champion with NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
 * Dorian O'Daniel (2013) – 2018 third-round pick by NFL's Kansas City Chiefs; linebacker for Clemson University; winner of 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship; Super Bowl LIV Champion.
 * Margaret Purce (2013) – current member of senior United States women's national soccer team and Sky Blue FC of the NWSL. Drafted with the 9th pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers and former member of the Portland Thorns. Elected to Harvard University's Board of Overseers.
 * Kyle Snyder (2014) – freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, 2016, 2017 and 2018 NCAA heavyweight champion, 2015, 2017 World Champion; Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics 97 kg freestyle gold medalist.
 * Imani Dorsey (2014) – current member of senior United States women's national soccer team and Sky Blue FC 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 (2014) – undrafted free agent signed in 2019 by NFL's Chicago Bears; center for Notre Dame.
 * Uche Eke (2015) – Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics 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 Chicago Bears; linebacker for Cincinnati Bengals.
 * Lindsey Pulliam (2017) – professional basketball player for Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor. Drafted by the Atlanta Dream in the third round of the 2021 WNBA draft.
 * Josh Paschal (2017) – 2022 second-round pick by NFL's Detroit Lions; defensive end for The University of Kentucky; named to 2021 All-SEC football team.
 * Jalen Green (2019) – defensive end for the James Madison Dukes
 * Cam Hart (2019) – college football cornerback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
 * Kris Jenkins (2020) – college football defensive tackle for the Michigan Wolverines