Eastside Catholic School

Description

Founded by parents in 1980, the school is governed by an elected board of trustees. It is accredited by the state of Washington, the Northwest Association of Independent Schools. It is a member of the National Catholic Educational Association and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS). Eastside Catholic consists of a middle school, grades 6–8, with 235 students, and a high school, grades 9–12, with approximately 800 students. The athletics mascot is the Crusader and the school colors are orange and navy blue. Eastside Catholic also offers an integrated special education program for high school students, the Options Program.

History

For the first nine years, the campus was south of the Bellevue Square mall, at the former Bellevue Junior High School (old Bellevue High), which is now the Downtown Park.

The next campus was also rented from the Bellevue School District at the former Ringdall Junior High (1970–87) at 11650 SE 60th Street in Newport Hills. Classes were held at that campus from 1981 to June 2008. In August 2008, Eastside Catholic opened a new $42 million campus in the city of Sammamish. The school also included an expansion to include grades 6–8. The Sammamish campus features a chapel and 2,000 seat athletics stadium.

Scandals

The school made headlines when the resignation of vice-principal Mark Zmuda was announced in December 2013. Zmuda said he had been fired. The school stated in a letter to parents that "Mark's same-sex marriage over the summer violated his employment contract with the school" and that the school had been "directed to comply with the teachings of the church". Though many at the school advocated retaining Zmuda, the Archdiocese of Seattle maintained that Zmuda either needed to be terminated or the school would lose its credential as a Catholic institution.

In response to the student protest, the school administration stated that students would be sent home for any additional campus protests. This failed to quell the controversy, and on January 22, 2014, the president of the school, Sister Mary Tracy, resigned. The school board of trustees accepted her resignation, saying, "For Sister Mary it was a difficult but necessary decision so that a new leader can be brought in to ensure the entire Eastside Catholic community is on a positive path forward."

In August 2017, the school underwent another major disruption of its leadership. The overall principal of the school and the principal of the middle school were both dismissed, and 13 other faculty members resigned in response. Amid the dispute, an online petition was established that collected more than 400 signatures, calling for the dismissals to be reversed. The school's interim president, Father William Heric, and the two co-chairs of the board of trustees were reported to have fired the principals without the permission of the rest of the board of trustees. The turmoil resulted in the school being unable to open on time for its fall session, so the start of classes was delayed by a week.

Sporting Championships

Eastside Catholic has won eleven state titles from 1984 to 2018: The cheerleading team has won various UCA national and world titles.

• 1984: Girls Cross Country
• 2010: Division II Girls Lacrosse
• 2014: 3A Football
• 2015: 3A Football
• 2016: Cheerleading Non-Tumbling
• 2016: Girls' Lacrosse
• 2017: Cheerleading Non-Tumbling
• 2017: Girls' Lacrosse
• 2017: Boys' Lacrosse – Private School
• 2018: 3A Football
• 2018: Cheerleading Non-Tumbling
• 2019: 3A Football
• 2019: Cheerleading Non-Tumbling
• 2024: 3A Basketball

Notable alumni

• Justin Armbruester, pitcher in the New York Mets organization
• Matt Boyd, MLB player formerly for the Detroit Tigers
• Hunter Bryant, NFL player formerly for the Detroit Lions
• Nolan Hickman, NBA G League player for the Capital City Go-Go
• Sophia Hutchins, American socialite
• Ethan O'Brien, professional soccer player
• Josh O'Brien, professional soccer player
• DJ Rogers, college football tight end for the TCU Horned Frogs
• Gee Scott Jr., NFL tight end for the Washington Commanders
• Cal Towey, MLB player formerly for the Miami Marlins.
• Matisse Thybulle, NBA player for the Portland Trail Blazers
• JT Tuimoloau, NFL defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts

References

References

1. (July 2025). "High School Code Lookup". [[Vanderbilt University]].
2. "EC at a Glance".
3. "High School Profile".
4. (January 2017). "School Fight Song". Eastside Catholic School}}{{dead link.
5. "Eastside Catholic Athletics". Eastside Catholic School.
6. "Tuition and Tuition Assistance".
7. "Our Campus".
8. "EC at a Glance".
9. "EC at a Glance".
10. "Options Program".
11. [https://www.eastsideheritagecenter.org/pdf/BellevueSchoolsTimeline%201883-Present.pdf Eastside Heritage Center] {{Webarchive. link. (October 21, 2011 - Bellevue Schools Timeline – accessed September 19, 2013)
12. "School History". Eastside Catholic High School.
13. "Mark Zmuda Personnel Action Letter".
14. (December 19, 2013). "Gay vice principal dismissed by Catholic school, 400 students walk out".
15. Turnbull, Lornet. (December 19, 2013). "Eastside Catholic students rally around ousted vice principal". [[The Seattle Times]].
16. Langeler, John. (January 6, 2013). "Eastside Catholic back to school; will discipline protesting students".
17. (January 22, 2014). "Catholic School President Resigns after Gay Vice Principal's Ouster".
18. Grande, Alison. (August 18, 2017). "2 principals fired, 13 faculty quit at Eastside Catholic".
19. Esteban, Michele. (August 18, 2017). "Eastside Catholic flip-flops on faculty changes, interim president, 2 board members out". [[KOMO-TV.
20. Hahn, Elisa. (August 18, 2017). "Eastside Catholic reverses controversial faculty shake-up".
21. (May 17, 2010). "Eastside Catholic girls lacrosse wins state title, makes school history".
22. Liebeskind, Josh. "Eastside Catholic snaps Bellevue's 67-game win streak to win Class 3A title".
23. (December 4, 2015). "3A football: Eastside Catholic roars back to beat Bellevue in overtime".
24. (May 28, 2017). "Crusaders capture state lacrosse championship".
25. (November 30, 2018). "Class 3A: Eastside Catholic wins third state football title of decade, beats O'Dea". The Seattle Times.
26. "Justin Armbruester - Baseball".
27. "Hunter Bryant, Washington Huskies, Tight End".
28. "Nolan Hickman - Men's Basketball".
29. https://fightingirish.com/roster/ethan-obrien/
30. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2747158/2021/08/05/josh-obrien-the-irish-american-who-went-on-trial-at-watford-and-ended-up-winning-a-pro-deal/
31. (14 December 2019). "From Jamaica to Berkeley: Eastside Catholic four-star tight end DJ Rogers commits to Cal".
32. (25 December 2018). "Quite a Christmas present: Eastside Catholic's Gee Scott Jr. gets a football scholarship to Ohio State".
33. "Colts select JT Tuimoloau with No. 45 pick in 2025 draft".