St. Joseph-Marquette is the only Catholic K-8 school in the city of Yakima, operating under the Diocese of Yakima with roots tracing to 1875 — the oldest school established in the Yakima Valley. Three Sisters of Charity of Providence, sent by Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, founded the original St. Joseph Academy in what is now Union Gap. Enrollment runs about 340 students with a 15:1 student-teacher ratio, and tuition near $7,700 ranks among the most affordable Catholic schools in Washington.
The school combines Catholic faith formation with a traditional academic program through eighth grade. There are no real same-city secular peers — Yakima's private school market is small — so families typically compare against Yakima public elementary schools rather than competing private options. Within the Diocese of Yakima, the closest peer K-8 institutions are Holy Family (Kennewick), Christ the King (Richland), and St. Joseph (Wenatchee), each anchored by a similar parish-school model.
A new 10,500-square-foot gymnasium, built on a former parking lot purchased by the diocese in 2021, was completed in summer 2023 and is used for athletics, PE, and assemblies. The school's annual Lenten Fish Frydays tradition serves roughly 600 meals per Friday evening and was profiled by the Yakima Herald-Republic; the event functions as both fundraiser and community anchor in a way that's distinctive among the school's Eastern Washington K-8 peers.
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