Education was the furthest thing from her mind.

Dr. Mary McDonald worked in a management firm. One day, she stepped into a classroom as a substitute math teacher at a large inner-city school in Philadelphia and was hooked.

“The kids needed me,” says McDonald. “I was called to be there.”

By the time the Philadelphia native moved to Memphis, she was a full-time teacher. McDonald taught at Holy Rosary Parish School and St. Agnes Academy. She later became principal for the lower school at St. Agnes and then principal at St. Benedict at Auburndale. However, some of her biggest accomplishments came when she held a position she did not originally want, the Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Memphis.

“The Bishop (Terry Steib) called me and asked if I would be the Superintendent and I said no,” recalls McDonald. “I didn’t want to leave St. Benedict. However, I quickly learned you really can’t say no to the Bishop, so I ended up taking the job. I was able to make it interesting and fun and make it my own.”

McDonald says she did not want to use the position to grow her professional career, but instead, use it to better the community.

“When you do the right things for the right reason, things will happen,” believes McDonald.

When McDonald took over as Superintendent in 1998, there were 14 Catholic Schools and five of them were slated to close. McDonald, along with some generous donors, established the Jubilee Schools. Under McDonald’s leadership, the Diocese expanded to 29 schools by reopening inner-city Memphis Catholic Schools. Fourteen years later, when McDonald resigned as Superintendent, the Catholic School system was seeing its largest enrollment since the 1970s.

The Jubilee Schools opened many doors for McDonald, including an audience with Pope John Paul II (now Saint John Paul the Great) and Pope Benedict XVI. She was also invited to be the featured speaker at the White House Summit on Urban education where she met with President George W. Bush to discuss the impact the Jubilee Schools had on inner-city education in Memphis. McDonald was thrilled to share Memphis’ educational successes with the nation.

“It’s not about me. It’s about how many I can help,” says McDonald.

In January of this year, six years after McDonald resigned as Superintendent, the Diocese of Memphis announced they would be closing the Jubilee Schools due to the deficiency of money in the trust set up to fund the schools. McDonald told WMC Action News 5 that while she is sad the schools are closing, she is joyful that a difference was made in Memphis. In August of this year, the Shelby County School Board approved to open six of the Jubilee Schools as charter schools.

McDonald’s last day as Superintendent of Catholic Schools was on June 30, 2012. On July 1, 2012, she opened her own business, MCD Partners, a consulting firm for education. McDonald helped open schools and turn around underperforming schools in 98 cities in 30 states. In 2015, she expanded her firm to include a business division that helps companies with strategic planning, business plans and marketing.

“I was able to take everything I learned and my network and help others,” says McDonald. “The way you touch other people’s lives is your legacy. I am fortunate to be able to help people every day.”

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