Christ the King School

Christ the King School is a Roman Catholic parochial school in Seattle, Washington, teaching children from preschool through eighth grade.HistoryThe Seattle economy was just beginning to feel the effects of the stock market crash of 1929 when Bishop Edward O'Dea asked Father Gerald Fitzgerald to establish a new parish in an area that was then a few miles north of the city limits. Father Fitzgerald bought a house on the southeast corner of N 117th Street and Phinney Avenue N. and started building what would be named St. Anthony Church. Bishop O'Dea formally dedicated St. Anthony Church in September 1930.Father Fitzgerald recognized the importance of providing parochial education for his growing parish and broke ground for the original school building in July 1939. St. Anthony School opened in September 1939 with a staff of four Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and 94 students. The original three-bedroom house purchased to serve as the convent was eventually expanded to house 16 BVM Sisters.On December 10, 1949, Bishop Connolly blessed the cornerstone for the new church and re-dedicated the parish as Christ the King, since a St. Anthony Church already existed in Renton, Washington. The eighth grade class of 1950 became the first graduates of Christ the King School (CKS). It is still possible to find graduates of St. Anthony School among current Christ the King parishioners.The school reached its peak enrollment of just under 1,000 students in 1956. By 1960, CKS class sizes were so big they violated county fire codes and the school had to stop adding students. Ultimately, students who would have attended Christ the King transferred to a new school built at St. Luke's Parish.