History & 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.” The School is intended 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 that dates back nearly 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 the 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 within the classical curriculum where appropriate. 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 more than 900 boys and their families.

From the Statement of Purpose

St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world. To this end, the School professes and upholds certain values. These values include the discipline of postponing immediate gratification in the interest of earning eventual, hard-won satisfaction; the responsibility of defending one’s own ideas, of respecting the views of others, and of accepting the consequences for one’s own actions; and an appreciation for the lively connection between knowledge and responsibility and the obligation to serve.

Timeline

1906 – Menter B. Terrill and his wife Ada establish The Terrill School on the principles of providing rigorous academic preparation and strict discipline for boys.

1933 – The parents of Menter Terrill’s former students join together to establish Texas Country Day School.

1946 – The Terrill School reopens as Cathedral School for Boys.

1950 – Cathedral School for Boys and Texas Country Day merge to form St. Mark’s School of Texas.

1961 – The McDermott-Green Science & Mathematics Quadrangle opens to national acclaim.
 
1972 – Ninth graders embark on the first annual Pecos Wilderness Trip, a 12-day hiking excursion that continues to this day.

1977 – Donors establish the first fully endowed Master Teaching Chair.

1988 – The Terrill School is recognized as the original predecessor school of St. Mark’s.
 
2006 – The School celebrates its Centennial Year.
 
2013 – The Centennial Challenge capital campaign successfully concludes, surpassing its goal of $110 million.

2014 – Following a nationwide search, David W. Dini, a 20-year veteran of St. Mark's, is appointed the School's eighteenth headmaster. 

2017 –  St. Mark's launches Goals for St. Mark’s IV, a strategic plan that will serve as a road map for the future. 

2019 – The Winn Science Center and McDermott-Green Science Building open, ushering in a new era of science education at St. Mark's.

2023 – St. Mark's breaks ground on the Marksman Athletic Complex.

St. Mark’s School of Texas

10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000

About Us

St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.

St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.