CRJS Newsletter

As one of 64 ninth graders in the inaugural class of the new Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle High School, in Seattle, Washington, where Katie Seltzer, Ed.M.’22, works and which opened its doors in August 2024, Aniya M. was vaguely aware the school had some sort of cellphone policy. But only after she began texting her mom during lunch — and got what she calls a “very polite” reminder to put her phone away lest it be confiscated — did she understand that phones are banned entirely during the school day.

It's been nearly a decade since community leaders in Seattle began dreaming about founding a new Jesuit high school that would provide a career-focused, college preparatory education for students with limited economic resources.

Pom-poms waved. Thundersticks clacked. Hoots and hollers reverberated. There was even a brass band playing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” But this wasn’t game day. It was draft day — Corporate Work Study Draft Day.

A new institution on the campus of a closed diocesan school will aim to revitalize affordable Catholic education in the Pacific Northwest's largest city.