St Mark's School Of Texas

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Best school for all-round development of the kid with focus on STEM & College preparation.

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: April 30, 2024

Posted: June 20, 2022

Does it lower the chances of admission if I apply for financial aid? Is there a limit on how many students they can provide financial aid?

Posted: June 20, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Posted: December 18, 2019

Great, I'm an alum and St. Marks is what I call home

Posted: May 10, 2017

While there no such thing as the perfect school, St Marks is definitely the best we have seen and have had children attend Good Shepherd (also a solid lower school), Parish(terrible) and Greenhill. Its steeped in traditions, which are really cool (like the Pecos camping trip where they go out for a week in the wilderness). We could see the difference in our son almost immediately when he transferred to St Marks. He is highly engaged and well-prepared for college.

Students: This is a diverse school so if you want your child exposed to many different cultures, its a great place for you. Our son has friends from India, China, Europe and Latin America, which has helped him understand we live in a connected world. The children are from all income levels with one thing in common, intelligence.

Teachers: There are many changes happening right now with the new Head of School, he is upgrading the teacher base, which takes time. Generally, the teachers are very good with a few a) older ones who need to retire b) young ones who are not quite ready and make some mistakes and c) ones that only care about the students that are in the club...i.e. math. Overall, we have been pleased with the moves that David has made.

Campus: Its probably the most beautiful campus in Dallas. Greenhill and Cistercian are also nice. The classrooms are pretty good, but need some uprades. The food is absolutely awful and you have to pay for it even if you child doesn't eat it.

Technology: The Achilles Heel of St Marks, the school is woefully behind in terms of adopting new technology. No ipads or ebooks yet. They don't even offer coding classes until 10th grade and have few options. The computer lab is behind the times badly. They are building a new science wing, which will be amazing.

Sports: Both broad offering and good opportunities for the boys to try many different sports. Our son did fencing and water polo as examples. Good facilities as well.

There is a good reason why its ranked the #8 private school in the country.

Posted: May 10, 2017

Honestly, its an issue at all schools. We have seen it first hand at several and through our friends in virtually all of them. St Marks is dealing with it, but they are not there yet. The faculty tries to pretend it doesn't happen, but its there. The parent community is challenging David to address this issue head on so lets see what he does.

Posted: May 10, 2017

There is no way around it, St Marks is a school for bright children. The ability to survive a Parish is very different than St Marks. The homework is real (1-2 hrs per night) and the teachers can be hard (you will learn something). They will challenge you to raise your game. It was perfect for our son, but he was bored out of his mind at Parish.

Posted: May 10, 2017

We have a great respect for David Dini, the new headmaster. He is a character guy who is genuinely engaging the parent community in his pursuit to push St Marks forward. Have been impressed with his wisdom and passion since taking the role. They recently promoted Dean Clayman to the head of the middle school, which is a great move. He still is our son's favorite teacher and overall character guy.

Posted: May 10, 2017

This is a high integrity school with a focus on the full boy development. They don't just focus on academics, its about being well-rounded, well-read and able to intelligently discuss any number of topics. The biggest character piece is the Pecos trip that all 9th graders do over the summer where they survive together in the wilderness for a week and actually spend 24 hrs alone on their solo. Really amazing experience.

Posted: May 10, 2017

There are some exceptional teachers like Dean Clayman and then some terrible ones like Frazier (Humanities) who are unqualified to be teaching in public schools. However, the recent hires from the new head of school demonstrate forward-thinking and improving quality across the board.

Posted: May 10, 2017

The boys will have 1-2 hrs of homework a night in middle school and 2+ hrs in high school. From what we hear from our older friends, they are really well prepared for college.

Posted: January 12, 2015

A stunningly beautiful campus and excellent arts and language programs. The PE department is wonderful and there are some amazing teachers in the school. However, the STEM curriculum in the Lower School is frankly disappointing, the focus just is not on math and science which is very surprising. No possibilities to accelerate or differentiate for the young hungry high ability students, a cookie cutter approach. The school has wonderful traditions, but at the same time too little willingness to change some outdated practices, and to continue to be the best, a school needs to evolve and welcome change. No parental feedback channels available. A great school, but could be even better.

Posted: March 17, 2014

Pretention and elitism are not synonymous with intelligence and success. While the school has great potential they need to be less concerned with a who's who roster and more concerned with the type of boys they admit.

Posted: December 3, 2013

St. Mark's is, without a doubt, not only the best college preparatory school in the Dallas metro area, but also one of the best in the country, as indicated by a number of sources. We switched our son from one of the star public elementary schools in the Dallas area to St. Mark's, so that he can be fully challenged in all areas, and the results exceeded our expectations. We saw a significant increase in challenge and performance levels in all academic and sports areas at St. Mark's. We definitely recommend this school to anybody who has a gifted, high-achieving son and is looking to fully challenge him.

Posted: October 25, 2013

The best education available in our area for boys. I fully expect that the reviews on here talking about arrogance, etc are written by people whose boys were not admitted. It is very difficult to gain admission. The student must be at the very top of his academic group. These boys are more prepared for college than anywhere else in my opinion.

Posted: September 20, 2013

Not the best school, just the most arrogant one with too much of the discrimination you'll see and experience.

Posted: April 30, 2010

Great school. love the curriculum but more importantly like the stress on characther development. I wish I had a chance to study in a school like Saint Marks.

Posted: April 29, 2010

Our son was at St. Mark's for all 12 years of his education, graduating in 2004. . It is a remarkable school that brings out the very best in each boy, instills the responsibilities of public service and starts him on the road to success. They have a very generous scholarship boys who qualify,and give a lot back t the community, It is an outstanding place.The staff and teachers and administration all display the integrity, and caring they they expect of the boys! Just a wonderful place.

Posted: March 17, 2010

My son is finishing his Jr. year at St. Mark's. Simpl stated it is the most incredible school in Texas and ranks amongst the best nationally.

Posted: February 22, 2010

My son has been attending St. Mark's for 3 years now and it has been a wonderful experience for my entire family. The other families are very friendly, the students accept new students willingly and the faculty/staff is top-notch.

Posted: December 1, 2007

Posted: December 5, 2006