Why Won't Maranatha High School Practice What They Preach?

Pasadena Deserves  a Christian School that Does the Right Thing

"The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” — John 3:19

The Issue

Maranatha High School (Pasadena) is corrupt, retaliatory, and shows major favoritism—betraying the Christian values it claims to uphold.

What Happened

• A personal grudge from a staff member (Sonya Witherspoon) set off years of targeted mistreatment.
• False rumors spread internally, creating bias among staff and families.
• Students faced retaliation after raising ethical concerns — including forced quarantine, removal from programs, and isolation.
• Flagrant & intentional CIF violations, favoritism toward board-member families, and unfair recruiting practices impacted their children’s athletic futures.
• Attempts to reconcile are ignored; leadership lawyered up instead and paid thousands of dollars to an attorney instead of speaking to us direclty.

Athletics & Recruiting

• Promising D1 athlete was blocked from exposure.
• Football coach Rand Holdren lied about a UCLA recruiter visit and withheld introductions.
• Meanwhile, insider students got red-carpet treatment.

Lies & Coverups

• Admissions Director and Baseball Coach Matt Shupper spread false claims.
• School launched a PR campaign to protect its image—while refusing accountability.
• A daughter was denied admission while peers were accepted.

Legal & Ethical Red Flags

• Matthew 18 reconciliation ignored.
• Recorded a meeting without consent.
• Leadership promoted those involved in the scandal.
• Family forced to relocate and restart their lives.

Call to Action

Maranatha Needs to:

• Acknowledge their errors
• Refund tuition and make recruiting wrongs right.
• Implement independent oversight of the board.
• Launch a public investigation into athletics, admissions, and leadership conduct.
• Reform retaliation and favoritism policies.

 Why It Matters

• Faith-based schools must reflect truth and integrity, not power politics.
• No family should face retaliation for speaking up.
• Leadership’s refusal to reconcile is a spiritual and ethical failure.

Scripture

“Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” — Matthew 15:14



• Evidence available upon request.
• Contact us for full documentation.