Riverdale Baptist School was founded in 1971 as a daughter ministry of Riverdale Baptist Church under the leadership of Reverend Fitzpatrick. In its first year, RBS had an enrollment of 188 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and was renting facilities from a local Catholic school. The school expanded by purchasing 156 acres of land on Largo Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 1974. The 70,000 square feet (1.6 acres) educational building opened in 1975 with the 2,100 seat church sanctuary following shortly thereafter. Over the years, RBS has added a basketball and volleyball gymnasium featuring a weight room and film room, baseball, and softball diamonds.[2]