"The St. Mark's experience was one of the two or three critical elements in my life in terms of giving me direction and a certain sense of purpose.  Much of what I have been able to accomplish with my life can be traced back in one way or another to St. Mark's." MIKE LEVY '64 Founder and Publisher Texas Monthly Magazine

HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY

St. Mark's School of Texas is a non-sectarian, college-preparatory, independent day school for boys in grades one through twelve.   The School's charter states that it is "designed to afford its students well-rounded physical, intellectual, moral, and religious training and instruction."   We intend the School to be a diverse community of teachers and students who share a love of learning and who strive for high achievement in whatever they undertake.

St. Mark's proudly builds upon a rich heritage of scholarship and excellence in education which dates back almost to the turn of the century.  In 1906, Mr. M.B. Terrill, fresh out of Yale University, came to Dallas, a city of over 70,000 citizens, and established the prestigious Terrill School for Boys, which served both day and boarding students through classes so small, and professor-student relationships so supportive, that teachers almost assumed the role of private tutors and top achievement was assured.

In 1913, at Mr. Terrill's urging, Ela Hockaday moved to Dallas and opened Hockaday School for Girls.  The Hockaday campus on Haskell and the Terrill campus at Peak and Swiss backed up to one another with a simple fence in between.  In 1946, Terrill School became The Cathedral School, which in turn merged in 1950 with Texas Country Day School, founded in 1933, to form St. Mark's School of Texas.

Impressive facilities such as the planetarium, observatory, and greenhouse once inspired Time magazine to call St. Mark's the "best equipped day school in the country."  In the sixties and seventies, the School established a financial aid program and initiated innovative teaching methods, where appropriate, within the classical curriculum.  During the eighties, the Board of Trustees developed a forward-looking strategic plan called Goals for St. Mark's which resulted in dramatic modernization of the School's physical plant and substantial growth of its endowment.

Today, the School continues its tradition of excellence serving approximately 800 boys and their families.  As one of the nation's leading independent schools, St. Mark's offers the very best educational opportunities for students as they prepare for the challenges of college and adult life.