Bishop Blanchet High School is a private coeducational

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located north of Green Lake in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, United States. The school was founded in 1954 by the Archdiocese of Seattle, and named for the first bishop of the diocese, A.M.A. Blanchet (1797–1887). Originally named Blanchet High School, in 1999 the title Bishop was added to make the school easily identified as Catholic. Bishop Blanchet has an enrollment of approximately 850 students, 60% of whom are Catholic. The school employs 73 teachers, 69 of them full-time. Most students come from Archdiocesan elementary and middle schools.

Academics

Approximately 50% of students attend Honors or

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classes. To graduate, a student must have 52 credits. This school does not offer a

Running Start Running Start is a dual credit enrollment program in Washington, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Montana and Illinois which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college courses numbered 100 or above, while completing high school. It is simila ...

program. According to the Blanchet Admissions Office, approximately 99% of Bishop Blanchet graduates continue on to higher education.

History

The school was founded in February 1954, and opened in 1955. The school underwent minor renovations in 2002 and 2013.

Extracurricular activities

Blanchet has a range of sports, clubs, and activities. Most students at Blanchet partake in some kind of extracurricular activity. Several student retreats are offered, including a four-day

Kairos retreat The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. The member communities are composed predominantly of laypersons. It takes its roots from the Shepherding movement. T ...

''The Miter''

Bishop Blanchet's student newspaper, ''The Miter'', is published every month during the school year. Articles are published on the newspaper's website. (school newspaper)

Athletics

Blanchet has 36 teams in 17 interscholastic sports, and as of March 2016 had won 164 League Championships. Sports played include cross country, football, basketball, track, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, baseball, bowling, and ping pong. It has won state championships in the following sports: * Baseball (1): 1996 * Boys Basketball (1): 1963 * Girls Basketball (2): 1995, 1996 * Boys Cross Country (9): 1983, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2021 * Football (1): 1974 * Boys Soccer (2): 1974, 1980 * Softball (1): 1980 * Volleyball (4): 1991, 2004, 2006, 2009

Athletic scholarship scandal

In 2015, the Bishop Blanchet athletics program was investigated by the

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...

for self-reported violations to the association's recruiting policies. The head coach of the Blanchet football team had set up a scholarship program funded by the school to provide scholarships to Blanchet athletes to stay at the school, even if they did not qualify for normal scholarships or financial aid. As part of the WIAA's sanctions against the school, the school's girls' basketball and football teams' records in several previous seasons were expunged and the school's athletic program was put on a two-year probation, and the head football coach was fired.

Arts

Band, choir, drama and visual arts courses are available for students. The Drama department has a "black box" theater in the school where the fall play, one acts, improv, classes and rehearsals take place. In the spring, Blanchet performs a musical at the

Moore Theatre Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theater ...

. In 2008, Bishop Blanchet High School's Drama Program was awarded "The Top High School Theatre Program in the Northwest" by Stage Directions Magazine.

Notable alumni

Jon Jon Augustavo Jonathan Augustavo, better known as Jon Jon or Jon Jon Augustavo, is an American filmmaker, commercial director, and music video director who has written and directed works for artists including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mike Posner, Allen Stone, ...

– filmmaker and music video director *

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– actress * Gillian d'Hondt – professional basketball player * Bob Ferguson (1983) – lawyer, activist; current

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* Bianca Kajlich(1995) – actress *

Jake Lamb Jacob Ryan Lamb (born October 9, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, and was an All-Star in 2017. He has also played in MLB fo ...

(2009) – baseball player (

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) *

Tom Lampkin Thomas Michael Lampkin (born March 4, 1964) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played in , –, and –. Career Lampkin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Mike and Shirley Lampkin and grew up in Clyde Hill, Washington. He was one of fi ...

– baseball player (

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) *

Thayne McCulloh Thayne Martin McCulloh (born August 20, 1964) is an American social psychologist and academic administrator who is currently serving as the 26th President of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. McCulloh was selected as the interim success ...

– President,

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

Ellis McLoughlin Ellis McLoughlin (born July 8, 1990 in Seattle, Washington) is an American soccer player. Club career Youth McLoughlin began attending Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, Washington in 2004 where he was named All-area and team MVP as a fres ...

(2008) – soccer player (

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) *

Rick Redman Richard Clark Redman (March 7, 1943 – September 30, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker with the San Diego Chargers for nine seasons, including five in the American Football League (AFL) and four in the Nati ...

(1961) – football player and coach (

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) * Pat Shanahan (1980) – former

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executive and former acting

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* Josh Sale (2010) – baseball player (

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) * Joe Steele (1975) - football player * Joseph J. Tyson (1975) – Bishop,

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* Tom Workman (1963) – former NBA basketball player (

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, Baltimore Bullets)

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1954 High schools in King County, Washington Schools in Seattle Catholic secondary schools in Washington (state) High schools within the Archdiocese of Seattle 1954 establishments in Washington (state)