This history of McDonald School is taken from the second edition of Building for Learning: Seattle Public School Histories, which includes histories of every school building used by the district since its formation around 1862. The original essay was written for the 2002 first edition by Nile Thompson and Carolyn J. Marr, and updated for the 2024 edition by HistoryLink contributor Ryan Anthony Donaldson.
Judge McDonald
The Seattle School Board had already decided the new school between Green Lake and Latona would be named the Bryant School. However, when the board’s president, Judge F. A. McDonald, died in July 1913 while the school was under construction, the members chose to name it after him. McDonald was elected to the board in 1910 and was a member of the committee that selected the site. Four of McDonald’s grandchildren would attend the school.
McDonald School opened with three classes midway through the 1914-1915 school year. The next fall it expanded to five classes for grades 1-4. Emma D. Larrabee was named principal in 1916 and remained in that position until her death in 1940. School enrollment expanded and as many as 17 portables were utilized. In 1920-1921, when it became a K-8 school, McDonald housed 673 students in 20 classes. In 1923, a new addition opened with 12 classrooms. Peak enrollment was in 1926-1927 with 902 students. The following January the 7th and 8th grades moved to Hamilton Intermediate School.
Enrollment dropped to 453 in 1945-1946. It rose again to 750 in 1958-1959, but fell once more with the construction of Interstate 5 (1964) to the east, which eliminated much of McDonald’s service area. Enrollment stabilized for a while at around 600. McDonald became a K-5 school when 6th graders were moved to Hamilton Middle School in 1971. As a result, by 1973, enrollment had dropped to 363. Part of the resulting extra classroom space was used for four classes of special education students. In its final year as an elementary school, 1980-1981, McDonald had an enrollment of only 166 in grades K, 3-5. That February it was put on the district’s “nonessential” list, meaning that it was available for long-term lease or purchase. The building was leased to the Institute for Intercultural Learning and the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1984.
In 1998, McDonald was once again called into service, and it was used as an interim school site that fall. TOPS alternative program moved in while awaiting the renovation of their home at Seward. When TOPS returned to Seward in 1999, Stevens students moved into McDonald while their school building was being renovated. Stevens reopened in September 2001. Greenwood relocated to McDonald next in 2001. Puget Sound Educational Service District leased space from February 2003 to October 2003. After they moved out, McDonald continued to be used as a surplus leased building until 2010.
That year, renovations by F. E. Tompkins Architecture began. Though the McDonald school was not available for student use during this time, a school was still needed in 2010. Students who were enrolled in McDonald were relocated to Lincoln as an interim school site until the school reopened in 2012 as McDonald International Elementary School. Enrollment peaked at 480 students in 2018. McDonald International operates as a K-5 language immersion school with instruction half the day in English and the other half in either Spanish or Japanese. Since McDonald was reopened to serve the over-capacity enrollment numbers at John Stanford International Elementary School, McDonald mirrors that International program, thereby accommodating the same curriculum expectations.
History
F. A. McDonald School
Location: 144 N 54th Street
Building: 9-room brick
Architect: Edgar Blair
Site: 2.16 acres
1913: Named Bryant School on February 20; renamed F.A. McDonald School on October 1
1914: Opened on January 26 as annex to Green Lake
1916: Became independent school in September
1922: Site expanded to 2.23 acres
1923: Addition
1981: Closed in June
1981-97: Leased
1998: Reopened as interim site
1999-2001: Interim site for Stevens
2001: Interim site for Greenwood
2003: Leased to Puget Sound Educational School District
2004: Leased to Seattle Police Department (intermittent lease/use until 2009)
2010: School closed for renovations; Students enrolled at new McDonald International School were relocated to Lincoln as interim site
2012: School reopened; Renovation (F. E. Tompkins Architecture)
McDonald International Elementary in 2023
Location: 144 NE 54th Street
Configuration: K-5
Enrollment: 475
Nickname: Scotties
Colors: Royal blue and yellow
