McDonnell Elementary, 4010 Binderton Place SW: grades pre-K to 5, 480 students on the 2024-25 state report card, graded B with 80 points.

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, its principal’s page, Huntsville City Schools’ feeder pattern chart, school hours, enrollment page and events calendar, the City of Huntsville’s School Zone Locator, the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card for 2024-25 and 2023-24 and the federal NCES school directory for 2023-24.

McDonnell Elementary serves pre-K through fifth grade at 4010 Binderton Place SW, Huntsville, as one of Huntsville City Schools’ elementary schools. Alabama graded it a B, with 80 points, on its 2024-25 report card.

Who to call
Address 4010 Binderton Place SW, Huntsville, AL 35805
Phone 256-428-7280
Grades Pre-K to 5
District Huntsville City Schools
Feeds into Whitesburg Middle, then Grissom High
State school code 159-0230

Principal

Principal Frazier Barnes, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 480 students on the 2024-25 Alabama state report card.
  • Federal count: 445 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 18 students per teacher.

State report card

Alabama grades every public school from A to F each year. The grade comes from a 100-point score built from students’ achievement and growth on state tests in English language arts and math, chronic absenteeism (the share of students who missed 18 or more days), progress in English language proficiency and, for high schools, graduation rate and college and career readiness, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s report card rules.

2024-25 grade: B, 80 points. That compares with a C and 73 points on the 2023-24 card. Huntsville City Schools as a whole earned a B, with 89 points.

Indicator 2024-25 score
Academic achievement (ELA and math tests) 54.40
Academic growth 100
Progress in English language proficiency 57.33
Chronic absenteeism (lower is better) 9.14% of students

McDonnell Elementary’s full report card, with results by student group, teachers and spending, is on the state’s report card site.

Attendance zone

Check an address with the city’s School Zone Locator, which Huntsville City Schools links from its enrollment page. Zones do not follow the city limits, and the locator also names the school district for each address.

In the district’s feeder pattern chart, McDonnell Elementary feeds Whitesburg Middle and then Grissom High.

Calendar and bell times

McDonnell Elementary follows the Huntsville City Schools calendar, posted on the district’s events page. Coming dates:

  • Oct. 26-30: pre-K classrooms closed
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day holiday
  • Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving holiday for students and teachers
  • Friday, Dec. 18: half day for all students, end of the second grading period
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter holidays; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
  • Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday
  • March 15-19: spring break

School hours: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for elementary schools, according to the district’s school hours page.

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Frequently asked questions

What grades does McDonnell Elementary serve?

McDonnell Elementary in Huntsville serves pre-K through fifth grade, according to the Alabama State Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card.

What is McDonnell Elementary’s state report card grade?

McDonnell Elementary earned a B, with 80 points, on Alabama’s 2024-25 state report card, up from 73 points on the 2023-24 card.

Which middle and high school does McDonnell Elementary feed into?

Whitesburg Middle and then Grissom High, according to the Huntsville City Schools feeder pattern chart.

What time does McDonnell Elementary start?

Huntsville City Schools lists school hours of 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for elementary schools.