Everett’s newest school is almost ready for classes

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 9, 2026

EVERETT — Jackson Elementary students will soon be walking through the halls of a brand-new school when classes begin later this fall, as construction crews put the finishing touches on a replacement building that broke ground in 2025.

The $54 million project, paid for by a $326 million capital levy voters approved in 2022, is replacing the nearly 80-year-old elementary building on the west side of the city. The school was well-loved, but its age showed — it had narrow hallways, dim lighting and lacked accessible access.

The footprint of the new school is actually smaller than the previous Jackson Elementary building, which first opened in 1948, was expanded in the 1960s and was modernized again in the 1990s, according to Steven Krause, a senior construction manager at Everett Public Schools. But within that smaller footprint, the replacement includes six additional classrooms available for teachers and students — no portables will be needed — along with new breakout spaces, a large, bright central staircase, more natural light and improved security.

“The building had served us well,” Krause said Tuesday. “But we’re going to be much, much better suited with this one for what we need to support education.”

The new building is also more accessible, with new elevators and walkways that are significantly wider than the old elementary. It has new ways for classes to collaborate, including doors between classrooms of similar grades. Walls in the classrooms are made of surfaces that can easily be thumb tacked, allowing teachers to hang up student artwork.

The design team behind the new elementary building included thematic elements of rivers and fish throughout the building, including subtle curves in hallways and artistic mosaics depicting salmon jumping up a waterfall. (Jackson Elementary’s mascot is the Silvers, named after coho salmon). An informational graphic will also be installed on the ground floor showing the life cycle of salmon.

The goal is to put “a little pop” in the building to make it interesting, but not extravagant, said Darcy Walker, the district’s director of capital projects.

“I respect people’s tax dollars,” Walker said. “I want to make sure that we build the best building we can, last as long as we can, and yet maybe not have our architects win awards.”

Many of the design elements, particularly including lots of natural light and improvements to indoor air quality, come from the district’s participation in the Association for Learning Environments, an international group that looks at research done on ways to improve learning environments for youth, Walker said.

Everything inside and outside the new building, from improvements to the building’s airflow to the insulation in the walls and the materials used in construction to keep it seismically sound, was built with efficiency and longevity in mind, he said.

“I want to walk away and say we did everything we could, and it’s going to last another 80 years,” Walker said.

The project is being built in phases. Although school will be open to students in the fall, construction will continue on a new gym, set to be open in 2027 where the old elementary currently stands. A new parking area and drop-off loop in front of the school, an addition that seeks to keep cars off of the usually quiet road that gets crowded during the mornings and afternoons on school days, is also expected to open in 2027. (Four giant oak trees that have stood in the front of the school for decades will remain in place, officials said).

Demolition of the old Jackson Elementary building is expected to be completed this summer.

The last complete rebuild of a school in the district was the $50 million modernization of North Middle School, which opened to students in 2019. Thanks the 2022 capital levy and a 2026 capital bond, many more schools across the district are expected to be upgraded or replaced entirely over the coming years, including Madison Elementary, Everett High School, Lowell Elementary and Cascade High School, among others. The district will also build a brand new elementary school east of Mill Creek, expected to open in 2029.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.