Facts
St. Louise offers a rigorous academic education integrated by Gospel values for students in grades Pre-K through 8. Begun in 1961 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Louise is now one of 73 schools in the Catholic Archdiocese of Western Washington which stretches from the Canadian to Oregon border. We draw students from the greater Eastside communities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Woodinville, Renton, Newcastle, Seattle, Kirkland, Carnation, Fall City, and North Bend.
St. Louise Parish School is state-certified and accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association. The collective efforts of our outstanding staff provide a foundation for students to achieve excellence, assume responsibility, and develop traditional Catholic values and sound moral judgment.
Our maximum class size is 26 students in grades kindergarten through eight, but most classes average 16 students each - with two homerooms for each K-8 grade level. Our Pre-K program consists of just one homeroom. Our overall student-teacher ratio throughout the school is an outstanding 12:1, and that does not include the instructional assistants, who are assigned to the primary grade levels to support the teachers. We have about 305 students in a given year, with the approximate breakdown being:
- 90-95% are Catholic
- 20-30% are Asian
- 15-20% are Hispanic
- 100% of our 8th graders graduate
Speaking of 8th graders, the majority of our graduates are accepted to the highly selective Catholic high schools or enroll in the public high school's Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs.
Our state-of-the-art facilities include a fully equipped Science Lab, Art Room, and Computer Lab, and technology in each classroom such as interactive flat panel displays. Our junior high students take a Spanish-language class, and most grade levels have classes in art, music, p.e., library, and computer-education during the school day. Extra-curricular programs that are available before and/or after school include band, robotics, coding, debate, mock trial, speech, drama, choir, chess, art, math, Spanish-language, and science/STEM.
- Uniforms are required, with the "McDonald plaid" being our famous, traditional design for girls' skirts.
- Our principal, Mike Fuerte, along many other faculty and staff members are either alumni and/or alumni parents.
- St. Louise Parish's pastor, Father Gary Zender, is a strong supporter of our parish school, evidenced in part by being a recipient of "The Archbishop Alex J. Brunett Award" by the Seattle Archdiocesan School Board, in recognition of his distinguished service to and advocate for Catholic education.
- Twice monthly all-school Masses are celebrated with much student involvement.
- There are over a dozen community service/charity projects supported by our students, as we promote the importance of actively participating in the service for which God calls us.
- Sports are available, with many weekend games against other schools' teams in the CYO Sports League taking place in our impressive gymnasium.
Sports offered:
- For Girls - cross country, volleyball, soccer, basketball, track
- For Boys - cross country, volleyball, soccer, basketball, track, baseball
