School History
Saint Benedict School began in 1908, two years after St. Benedict Parish was founded. The school community proudly marked its 100 year anniversary in the 2008-2009 school year with reflection and celebration of this noteworthy milestone with the community and looked forward to inspiring students for years to come. It has served for more than one hundred years as a vital part of the mission of the parish. Hundreds of graduates have become engaged Catholics in our parish and in parishes elsewhere; our non-Catholic graduates also contribute to the good of the communities in which they live. The School continues to invite the parish to participate in many aspects of school activities, e.g., the Wurst festival, auction, school liturgies and assemblies, Christmas program and spring play. The School also assists in the evangelization efforts of the parish by modeling Christian discipleship to non-Catholic families in the School and larger community.
Saint Benedict Parish and School are located in the Wallingford area of Seattle, Washington. The parish was formed informally in 1904 as families in the Greenlake area attended Mass once a month in the home of Mrs. Margaret Ward on Superior Avenue. In 1906 Archbishop Edward J. O'Dea formally established the new parish and named it Saint Benedict under the direction of the Benedictines from Lacey, Washington. In the spring of 1907 construction began on a church and school building which opened for church services in the summer of 1907 and for school the following summer in 1908. The school opened with eight grades and 66 students and was originally staffed by two sisters from the Edmonds Dominican Order who lived at Holy Angels Academy in Ballard and walked to and from school. From these humble beginnings the school’s enrollment grew to 250 in 1923 and 350 in 1945. In 1949, the enrollment was above 400 and 12 Dominican sisters comprised the faculty. A convent was built for the sisters in 1958. The enrollment grew steadily to a high point of 682 students, ten sisters and seven lay faculty in 1960. The school enrollment has decreased over the years as maximum class sizes were reduced to meet educational trends. Prior to the 1980’s, the parish and school was composed of predominately working class families, many with a large number of children, who lived within the parish boundaries. Since then the parish and school have become increasingly more diverse in income and ethnicity and have drawn significant attendance from outside traditional parish boundaries. In 2008, the school celebrated its centennial marked with special events including a Gala honoring many former students and teachers and gathering alumni and present school families to reflect, celebrate and inspire one another about the school’s contribution to the parish.