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Kennedy Catholic High School

Private school · Burien, King County · grades 9-12 · Catholic (Archdiocese of Seattle)

Snapshot

K-12 enrollment
874
SBE-reported, 2024-25
Tuition (top division)
$23,652
2026-27, school-published
Student-teacher ratio
11.6:1
NCES PSS, 2021-22
Teachers (FTE)
64
NCES PSS, 2021-22

Identity and approval

Campus
Kennedy Catholic High School, 140 S. 140th Street, Burien 98168
Grades
9-12
Religious affiliation
Catholic (Archdiocese of Seattle)
Coed / single-sex
coed
Accreditation
WCEA
Website
https://www.kennedyhs.org
WA SBE approval
2025-26 (state-approved private school)
Profit status
Nonprofit

Enrollment

9101112
238235225176

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25 school year, as reported to the WA State Board of Education.

Tuition and financial aid

Annual tuition
$23,652 (2026-27)
By division / fees
1st and 2nd student $23,652 each; 3rd student $5,208; 4th free. St. Teresa of Calcutta program $26,508.
Financial aid
45% of students receive some form of assistance; NOT accepting new aid applications for new/transfer students for 2026-27.

Source: the school's own tuition page · aid page, observed 2026-07-03. Tuition changes annually, verify before applying.

Academics

Curriculum
AP + Honors + Seattle U dual credit.
College matriculation
Publishes school-profile PDFs with college placements.
Washington private schools are not required to publish state assessment results, and this school's internal test data is not public. Unlike the public-school pages on this site, no score comparison is possible here, treat curriculum labels and matriculation lists as the available evidence.

Student demographics

Asian
20%
Black
7%
Hispanic
11%
White
45%

NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2021-22 (the most recent federal collection). Private-school demographics are reported biennially and lag public-school data.

Research dossier

Kennedy Catholic High School

Catholic school in Burien, affiliated with the Archdiocese of Seattle · grades 9–12 · 874 students (WA SBE, 2024-25) · coed college prep competing in WIAA's 4A classification.

The verdict

Start with the fact that changes the math: Kennedy Catholic is not accepting new financial-aid applications from new or transfer students for the 2026-27 school year. Historically about 45% of students here received need-based help, so a freeze aimed squarely at incoming families is a genuine strategy shift. This cycle, the door is open mainly to families who can carry the full $23,652 (2026-27) or who benefit from the school's aggressive multi-child pricing, under which a third concurrently enrolled student pays $5,208 and a fourth attends free. What that money buys is distinctive in the Seattle Catholic market. Kennedy Catholic is the closest thing to a big-spirit public high school with faith and structure attached, a rare private competing at the 4A level of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). It brings back-to-back state-champion girls swimming, powerhouse football, and one of the most racially diverse private student bodies in the state, admitted broadly rather than selectively. The trade is on the academic-competition side, where robotics is still a starter club and chess doesn't crack the state's top tier. Families chasing math-olympiad peer density should look north. Families who want a structured, diverse, high-energy Catholic community, and who clear the 2026-27 money hurdle, get a lot of school for the price.

Researched 2026-07-04. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.

That is the free excerpt. The full dossier covers what the school's own marketing won't: admissions mechanics and real selectivity, all-in cost and aid behavior, matriculation depth, culture and fit signals, institutional health, every claim cited and dated. Unlock it for $9, or get a $29 Research Pass with 3 dossiers included.

The real comparison is against your public options.

Tuition here runs five figures a year, the question is what it buys over the public schools your address already gives you. A $29 Research Pass unlocks score trends, peer percentiles, competition evidence, gifted-pathway detail, and PTA capacity on every public school in the region, plus 3 full research dossiers for the schools on your shortlist.

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Sources

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