144 NE 54th St, Seattle, WA 98105-3753
Avg years and MA-degree share are direct OSPI publications; the 3-year trend is our derivation. From data.wa.gov/yp28-ks6d.
We haven't mapped this district's official feeder chart yet, so these are the closest schools of the next level by straight-line distance, not your assigned or guaranteed schools. Your address decides the assignment. See the districts with full pathways mapped.
Hybrid model adopted March 2025 preserves the HCC self-contained cohort pathway alongside neighborhood-based HC services through at least 2027-28. Beginning 2026-27 the district adds two new HC elementary sites (Alki and Rainier View) and pilots single-domain identification (reading-only or math-only). Beginning January 2026 universal screening auto-includes all 1st and 4th graders; grades 2-3 and 5-8 require parent/educator referral. The 2027-28 horizon is a watch date because the original HCC sunset has only been paused, not cancelled.
Curated from district Highly Capable program pages, with observed-at dates and confidence labels.
Seattle Public Schools · grades K–5 · 443 students · option school, Spanish and Japanese dual-language immersion
McDonald asks for a bigger commitment than most Seattle elementaries: there is no English-only track, seats are won through the district's choice lottery rather than an address, and once your child is assigned a language they stay in it for six years. What that commitment purchases is unusually concrete. Math and science are taught entirely in Spanish or Japanese, and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) privately funds an assistant in every classroom, cutting immersion blocks from roughly 25 students per adult to about 14. The results show up exactly where the model predicts: math outcomes near the top of the school's demographic peer group, plus a state Board of Education recognition in 2024–25 for English language arts, math, and attendance.
The trade-offs also sit exactly where the model predicts. Advanced literacy is merely average for a school this affluent, there is no Highly Capable cohort and no cohort-style acceleration, and a family that wins a seat from outside the transportation geo-zone owns the commute entirely. This is a school for families who rank bilingualism as a first-order goal; it is a weaker fit for families whose priority is maximum academic acceleration in English.
Researched 2026-06-10. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.
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