What The Heights School does

The Heights School is an independent, non-profit Catholic day school for boys in grades 3-12, located on a single 10400 Seven Locks Road campus in Potomac, Maryland. Founded in 1969 by Catholic laymen associated with the Opus Dei prelature, the school operates three academic divisions (Lower School grades 3-5, Middle School grades 6-8, Upper School grades 9-12) with a classical liberal arts curriculum grounded in classic Western texts. Enrollment is approximately 600 students with a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio and a 1:1 mentor-to-mentee ratio, and the school is supported by 128 staff. Auxiliary programs include 13 athletic teams, 32 student clubs, studio arts, drama, and music (including a Men's Chorus that has run for 30 years), and a distinctive Mentoring Program that pairs each student with a faculty mentor.

The school's revenue model is tuition-driven and supplemented by summer programs and donations. Primary revenue comes from tuition and fees for grades 3-12 enrollment, with secondary revenue from summer camps (adventure, sports, academic, specialty) and credit-bearing summer courses. The Crescite Fund annual giving program contributes 8-12% of the annual operating budget, with structured donation tiers (Silver Circle $250+, Gold Circle $1,000, Leadership $5,000+). The school also operates the Tenley Study Center, a not-for-profit supplemental education center at the original 4300 Garrison St., NW Washington location, providing academic and character development programs for young men.

The school is governed by a board of directors with spiritual direction entrusted to Opus Dei, which does not own or control operations. Alvaro de Vicente (Class of '83) has served as Headmaster since 2002, leading a leadership team that includes the Business Manager, Senior Business and Communications Executive, Director of Alumni Relations, and Director of Summer Programs, plus division heads for Lower, Middle, and Upper School. Marketing channels include the school's website, parent communications, Fall Open Houses, community events, and alumni relations. Technology is conventional (iMac labs, parent portal, LMS) with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities or proprietary technology.

Name

The Heights School

Legal name

The Heights School

Website

https://heights.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Heights School is an independent, non-profit Catholic day school for boys in grades 3-12 in Potomac, Maryland, founded in 1969. It serves approximately 600 students with a classical liberal arts curriculum, 1:1 mentoring, and supplemental summer programs and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Potomac, Maryland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Primary revenue from tuition charged to families for student enrollment in grades 3-12. The school also generates revenue from lunch plans, late activities bus services, and various student fees.
2. Summer Programs: Revenue from summer camps and academic courses offered during summer months including adventure camps, academic enrichment, sports camps, and credit-bearing courses.
3. Donations (Crescite Fund): Annual fund donations providing 8-12% of the school's annual operating budget. Donors can direct gifts to specific programs including Athletics, Curriculum, Faculty Support, Fine Arts, Mentoring, or Scholarships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Heights School is an independent Catholic day school providing classical liberal arts education for boys in grades 3 through 12, organized into three divisions (Lower, Middle, Upper School). It delivers a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum grounded in classic Western texts, supported by a 1:1 faculty mentoring program, 13 athletic teams, arts programs, and 32 student clubs. The school also operates summer camps, credit-bearing summer courses, and college counseling services.

Product overview

The Heights School is an independent Catholic day school for boys grades 3-12, offering a liberal arts education grounded in classic Western texts. The school operates three academic divisions (Lower School, Middle School, Upper School) with programs including the Core Humanities Sequence, Robert H. Jackson Scholars Program, and Mentoring Program. Beyond academics, the school provides athletics (13 teams), arts (Studio Arts, Drama, Music including the 30-year-old Men's Chorus), and over 30 student clubs. Summer programs include academic courses for credit and diverse camp offerings ranging from adventure camps (Heights West, Frontiers) to sports and specialty camps. The school also offers college counseling services beginning in 10th grade.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates attend top colleges including Notre Dame, Virginia, Georgetown, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, and others

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Landon School: Independent non-denominational day school for boys in grades 3-12 located in Bethesda, MD. Direct competitor for all-boys private K-12 education in the affluent Potomac-Bethesda corridor.
• Bullis School: Independent co-educational K-12 day school located in Potomac, MD. Same geographic market and similar affluent family demographic, offering a comparable college-prep curriculum.
• Holton-Arms School: Independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3-12 in Bethesda, MD. Operates as the sister-school counterpart in the all-boys/all-girls private school cluster that competes with The Heights for the same DC-metro families.
• The Avalon School: Independent Catholic day school for boys in grades K-12 located in Gaithersburg, MD. Closely comparable single-sex Catholic school in the greater DC area, and a former employer of a Heights School faculty member per the data.
• Georgetown Preparatory School: Independent Catholic Jesuit day school for boys in grades 9-12 located in North Bethesda, MD. Closest direct peer to The Heights School given the all-boys Catholic day school model in the same wealthy DC-metro market.
• Flint Hill School: Independent co-educational day school for grades PK-12 in Oakton, VA. Competes for affluent DC-metro families seeking rigorous college-preparatory education with similar extracurricular breadth.
• Gonzaga College High School: Jesuit Catholic college preparatory high school for young men in Washington, D.C. Competes with The Heights for the same demographic of Catholic families seeking rigorous all-boys secondary education in the DC area.
• Maret School: Independent co-educational K-12 day school in Washington, D.C. Competes for the same central DC families and offers strong college-prep academics with arts and athletics programs.
• St. Albans School: Independent Episcopal day school for boys in grades 4-12 located in Washington, D.C. Established all-boys college-preparatory school competing with The Heights for DC-area families seeking character-based education.

Broad incumbents

• Sidwell Friends School: Highly prestigious Quaker co-educational day school in Washington, D.C. for grades PK-12. Competes for the same affluent DC-area families but offers co-ed and secular envir

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/the-heights-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Heights School