Goals for St. Mark’s IV

In January 2017, St. Mark’s School of Texas published Goals for St. Mark’s IV, the next phase of its long-term strategic plan. Following months of careful reflection, discussion, and engagement with the community, the School identified goals in six categories. Together, these goals serve as a faithful roadmap for the future. Five years later, we are excited to share some of the incredible progress that has been made toward realizing Goals for St. Mark’s IV.

Goal I: Students & Learning

(above) Head of Lower School Sherri Darver introduces the new daily schedule to parents in 2020 Conduct a Comprehensive Review

In 2017, the School conducted a comprehensive self-study of all aspects of the School program as part of the School’s 10-year Reaccreditation process with the Independent School Association of the Southwest (ISAS). A Visiting Committee of teachers and administrators from peer schools in the region visited campus in 2018 and reported, in part, “St. Mark’s breadth of program demonstrates a commitment to the whole boy. The boys at St. Mark’s, to their credit, are admirably articulate about their shared responsibility in creating a resoundingly positive school environment.” Expand the Computer Science Curriculum

With the opening of the Winn Science Center and remodeling of McDermott-Green Science Center, St. Mark’s continues to expand and strengthen its science education program for the boys, including computer science instruction across grades 1-12. With the addition of a Lower School Computer Science Teacher, now each Division has a dedicated computer science faculty member. The opening of the Makerspace created new opportunities for integrating engineering and computer science education. To ensure all Marksmen have a chance to explore this unique space, Makerspace Director Stewart Mayer teaches a “Make It, Break It, Fix It” class for all seventhgrade students, and additional elective courses are available to the boys in eighth grade as well as in Upper School.

Learning Beyond St. Mark’s Campus

While global travel has been hampered by the pandemic, St. Mark’s Travel Program has used the past few years to strengthen its processes and ensure that all boys have access to unique opportunities outside of Dallas. In 2019, longtime faculty member Mark Sullivan was named Director of Physical and Experiential Education, a role that would include providing leadership for student travel and outdoor education to ensure the longterm sustainability of these important experiences for the boys. When travel does resume in the near future, the systems supporting experiential education will continue to be strengthened while also providing enhanced opportunities for Marksmen into the future.

A New Daily Schedule

Following years of careful study and consideration, a new daily schedule was introduced in the 2020–2021 school year. This modified block schedule realizes four fundamental priorities that guided the review, assessment, and development of the daily schedule: maintain program excellence, increase flexibility for students and faculty, expand time for collaboration with students and teachers, and support the health and wellness of the boys. In its September 2020 issue, The ReMarker editorial board declared: “The new schedule has made commendable strides towards improving student life here on campus. Teachers have taken advantage of the new schedule, rewriting their lesson plans and bringing unique and enjoyable experiences to their students — efforts that we certainly have noticed.”

Character and Leadership Curriculum

While St. Mark’s has long focused on character and leadership, continues to develop meaningful curriculum and engagement activities to expand what has become a mission-aligned approach to developing the boys into good men.

In 2018, the School published The Handbook for Character and Leadership Education which outlines the fundamental concepts, guiding principles, programmatic framework, and outcomes to be realized in grades 4, 8, and 12. The handbook also includes a list of nearly 100 vocabulary words relevant to character and leadership education as well as answers to guiding questions we seek to help the boys answer during their time at St. Mark’s. Additionally, three teaching digests have been published to provide ideas for ways to approach teaching literature through the lens of Character and Leadership. Written by David Brown, the series includes Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, and The Great Gatsby. Plans are underway for additional publications that will guide the continued growth of Character and Leadership education at St. Mark’s.

(above) The ISAS Visiting Committee discusses their time on campus in 2018

(left) Makerspace Director Stewart Mayer teaches Middle Schoolers

Comprehensive Health Education

St. Mark’s has long taken a holistic view of educating boys. In recent years, the School has focused heavily on health and wellness, encompassing relational health, physical health, and social/emotional health. In recent years, the Counseling Team has expanded to include a dedicated counselor focused on the needs of boys in each division. The counselors regularly coordinate with athletics and physical education teachers to lead classes that educate the boys on topics specific to their physical and social/emotional well-being, and the new daily schedule has expanded dedicated class time for this important program to be delivered in a comprehensive way across all Divisions.

Goal II: Faculty & Teaching

“Each boy drew his own conclusion from the information we processed, which was really gratifying to see.”

—GayMarie Vaughn

Supporting Educational Expertise

Recruiting and retaining the best educators in the country continues to be a priority for the School. Additionally, St. Mark’s is dedicated to providing professional development support to current faculty, as teachers pursue workshops, travel, graduate school, and other opportunities to nurture their desire for continued learning.

Technology for Teaching

When a tornado and global pandemic disrupted campus life, St. Mark’s was able to quickly migrate online thanks to recent, extensive upgrades to its IT infrastructure. Beginning in 2019, the School transitioned many of its digital tools to the Cloud through Microsoft 365. As a result, teachers and students can collaborate and learn together on or off campus. Even massive collaborative projects like the student newspaper and yearbook were able to organize through Microsoft Teams, share files through OneDrive, and edit stories through Microsoft Word.

Encourage Innovative Teaching

Across campus, teachers are encouraged to get creative in their classrooms, finding new and exciting ways to educate their students. For example, in the English Department, seniors can choose from a number of unique, seminar-style electives. Dr. John Perryman teaches “A 100-Year Partnership: A History of Dallas and St. Mark’s,” which dovetails with his broader work in Civic Responsibility. GayMarie Vaughn offers an elective called “Literature of Human Rights,” which is inspired by her own ongoing doctoral work.

“Since the subject includes topics that are sometimes polarizing, the boys learned to listen and discuss controversial topics with respect,” said Vaughn. “Each boy drew his own conclusion from the information we processed, which was really gratifying to see.”

(above) Third-grade teacher Erica Hershner welcomes boys on the first day of school

(left) Cameron Hillier ’13, Upper School English Teacher and Director of the Wilderness Program

Similarly, for her unit reviews, fourth-grade teacher Lauren Fischer is drawing inspiration from the popular Escape Room games. Boys work in teams, using what they learned to complete challenges, solve puzzles, and unlock clues. Each step reveals a piece of the secret coded message that will allow the boys to “escape.”

“It’s really fun, gets the group dynamics working in a way that requires adaptability and compromise, and reinforces content,” says Fischer.

Walk campus on any given day, and you will see boys programming drones they have laser cut in the Makerspace, delivering lines in the amphitheater from Shakespearean plays, applying economic models to real-world problems, or examining microscopic cells through the lens of sophisticated microscopes in Middle School science. Innovative instruction combined with a devotion to teaching continues to be realized in new ways each year.

Goal III: Enrollment, Access & Affordability

Strengthen Admission Practices

The mission of the Admission Office is to assemble the most qualified student body from a broadly diverse pool of applicants who exhibit intellectual curiosity, strong character, and a desire to contribute to St. Mark’s in meaningful ways. Each year, the Admission team searches for candidates who will not only benefit from a St. Mark’s education but who will also positively contribute to the Marksman community. The Admission team continues to expand programs to introduce St. Mark’s to more families by hosting in-person and virtual events to provide more opportunities to introduce St. Mark’s to families while also prompting interest from prospective families from across the country and around the world. Access & Affordability

For more than two years, a committee comprising both School leadership and Trustees has met to review strategies for attracting, enrolling, and retaining the most qualified students while also expanding access and affordability so that any qualified boy in Dallas will be able to attend St. Mark’s to thrive and contribute to the richness of the school community. Realizing this goal benefits all students at St. Mark’s as the range of lived experiences that each boy brings with him to campus adds to the strength of the student body experience on campus.

“Expanding Access & Affordability benefits the entire school community,” said Admission Officer Korey Mack ’00. “There’s a clear and immediate benefit to the boys who otherwise could not attend St. Mark’s. But those boys also bring unique backgrounds and perspectives that enrich the entire community. Learning from others who have lived different experiences is at the core of developing empathy, character, and respect.”

“It is important for students to learn about others with backgrounds dissimilar to their own. That helps build empathy and allows students to become more understanding of others in different situations.” —SeMaj Musco ’21

Goal IV: Campus Resources

(above) The Winn Science Center atrium

(opposite) Fourth-grade teacher Lauren Fischer uses her smart screen to lead a vocabulary game A New Science Center

As with continued expansion and strengthening of programs across the campus, the Science Center Project provides an illustration of what can be realized when facilities complement and inspire program. With the opening of the Winn Science Center and renovation of the McDermottGreen Physical Science Center, the School has continued to “strengthen and expand science and technology education” enhancing long-standing programs such as the planetarium, greenhouse, and laboratory science to expanding programs to include an engineering and makerspace that teaches boys design, engineering, fabrication, and prototyping to the dedicated Lower School Science classroom that provides our youngest Lions with authentic lab experiences in view of the older boys. Across grades 1–12, Marksmen are engaged in hands-on science exploration and education. Long-Term Facility Needs

St. Mark’s had already begun reviewing its campus master plan when the unimaginable happened. Mere weeks after the destruction of Hicks Athletic Center, Spencer Gym was completely renovated into a competition-grade court — just in time to host the winter basketball season. A few months later, when the pandemic interrupted daily life, the School charted an ambitious course to bring students safely back to campus. From major HVAC upgrades to socially distanced classrooms, St. Mark’s optimized its facilities to continue providing an exceptional educational experience during this difficult time. Now, attention turns to the northeast corner of campus as we begin design phases for a new athletic center complex to not only replace Hicks Gym, which was lost in the tornado, but to design a complex that will inspire Marksmen for decades into the future.

Maintain an Excellent Physical Plant

Alongside major building projects like Athletics and Science, the School has been continuously evaluating and updating spaces across campus. The ellipse nestled between the Science Center and Lower School has become a key green space, hosting community events and meaningful moments of community connection. A new playground was built within the corner of the Fojtasek Family Lower School building, creating a safe and fun space for young Lions to interact and explore. And the School captured thousands of square feet of developable land by moving the north fence line several feet toward Orchid Lane.

A Safe & Secure Campus

Providing students with a safe learning environment continues to be a top priority. The security team continues regular review of tools and protocols to maintain a safe campus, bolstering existing security and safety procedures. More than 100 security cameras watch over campus, a new visitor screening system keeps track of anyone coming on campus, exterior doors are now secured with card access, and additional offduty and retired Dallas Police Officers have joined the security team.

In modern times, “safety” extends into the digital world as well. To protect the School from emerging cyber threats, the Technology team routinely upgrades firewalls, email filters, and antivirus software, as well as hosting regular cyber security training with faculty and staff. Classroom Technology

To ensure that faculty have the tools they need to support classroom instruction, the Technology team continues to proactively upgrade faculty and staff technology while providing training on the most current teaching tools. Classrooms are also getting smarter, with the implementation of touchsensitive smart televisions designed especially for education. And while tools are readily available to teachers, sitting around the Harkness Table engaged in discussions, conducting hands-on experiments in the lab, or going to the white-board to work through math problems continues to be integral practices of instruction.

Alumni, parents, and students come together on and off campus

Goal V: Institutional Stewardship

Financial Resources

Thanks in large part to the community’s unwavering support, St. Mark’s has steadily navigated uncertain economic times. The School’s Endowment continues to outperform expectations, earning a 28.6% return during the 2021 fiscal year for a year-end value of nearly $170 million. The St. Mark’s Fund also continues to go above and beyond its goal, supporting more than 10% of the School’s annual operating budget. And the School continues to bolster its planned giving program. Since 2017, more than 40 individuals have joined the Terrill Society by including St. Mark’s in their estate plans for a combined $23 million in deferred commitments.

And, as the School makes significant progress toward a new athletic center complex, the Board of Trustees is able to keep the School financially healthy thanks to careful planning and thoughtful fiscal policy. In particular, St. Mark’s has continued its commitment to incur no debt toward major building projects. The Athletic Center Project, just like the Science Center Project a few years earlier, will break ground only after 100% of commitments are secured.

Expand Parent and Alumni Engagement

The St. Mark’s family extends far beyond the classrooms, playing fields, and art studios. Parents and alumni are integral to the culture of St. Mark’s and ensure that the community continues to strengthen and grow long after each Marksman has graduated. The Parents’ Association and Alumni Association work tirelessly every year to keep their respective communities connected to St. Mark’s. Regular events like Alumni Weekend, Celebrate St. Mark’s, and visiting speakers provide ample opportunities for parents and alumni to engage with the School and each other. Students participate in these extended communities as well, with the Student Alumni Association connecting Upper School boys with alumni mentors.

Goal VI: Civic Responsibility

“We are grateful for the School’s support as we pursue our goal of developing more knowledgeable, skilled, and empathetic citizens of our country and the larger world.”

—Dr. John Perryman

Civic Engagement & Leadership

When they leave 10600 Preston Road, all Marksmen are expected to assume roles of leadership and responsibility in their communities. To continue to build upon this mission, the School recently established a new role: Director of Civic Responsibility. To fill this unique position, veteran St. Mark’s educator Dr. John Perryman returned to campus after a year working in the Dallas area nonprofit sector. His efforts now focus on teaching Marksmen about civic engagement, public policy, and local governance. Initial programmatic efforts include hosting special guest speakers from local community groups, touring locations including the African American Museum of Dallas and the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, and even connecting AP Economics students with the Childhood Poverty Action Lab to help study and solve real-world issues. Additionally, Dr. Perryman offers a one-semester English 12 elective titled “A 100 Year Partnership: A History of Dallas and St. Mark’s.” In addition to the history of both Dallas and St. Mark’s, students examine how a city functions and the civic areas necessary for a city to thrive.

Share with the Dallas Community

St. Mark’s continues to partner with local public schools to use the Winn Science Center’s stateof-the-art planetarium. Additionally, the School has formed a close relationship with the Wesley Rankin Community Center, serving West Dallas. Upper Schoolers regularly spend time at the Center’s after-school program, tutoring children and hosting musical performances. Additionally, St. Mark’s College Counseling team shared their expertise at the Center’s College and Job Fair Day over winter break. In addition to sharing facilities and student service, St. Mark’s hosts educators from across the country on campus who wish to learn more about Character and Leadership Education as well as other programs.

(above) Fourth-grade students visit local civic landmarks, including the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and the African American Museum of Dallas