Counseling & Academic Support
The mission of the Counseling Office at St. Mark’s School of Texas is to provide assistance to students and their families with academic, behavioral, and emotional needs. The Counseling Office staff also supports and bolsters St. Mark’s commitment to the Health and Wellness of every student.
Each Division has a dedicated psychologist available as a resource for students, parents, faculty, and staff. The school counselors are experienced Clinical Psychologists who understand and respond to the challenges presented by our diverse student population. St. Mark’s school counselors are integral to the total educational program and coordinate and deliver many of the Health & Wellness initiatives.
Faculty and administration look to the counselors for their expertise in developmental factors that impact a student’s learning and functioning in the school community. The counselors work closely with faculty and staff to identify and serve students in need of support.
Parents are also encouraged to contact the school counselor for consultation on parenting strategies, child behavior, and developmental concerns, or for help in supporting their student with life events such as an extended illness, the death of a loved one, or changes in the family.
Counseling and Academic Support services include the following:
Each Division has a dedicated psychologist available as a resource for students, parents, faculty, and staff. The school counselors are experienced Clinical Psychologists who understand and respond to the challenges presented by our diverse student population. St. Mark’s school counselors are integral to the total educational program and coordinate and deliver many of the Health & Wellness initiatives.
Faculty and administration look to the counselors for their expertise in developmental factors that impact a student’s learning and functioning in the school community. The counselors work closely with faculty and staff to identify and serve students in need of support.
Parents are also encouraged to contact the school counselor for consultation on parenting strategies, child behavior, and developmental concerns, or for help in supporting their student with life events such as an extended illness, the death of a loved one, or changes in the family.
Counseling and Academic Support services include the following:
List of 3 items.
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Counseling
- Counseling for students and families requesting assistance in each Division
- Screening for emotional or behavioral concerns
- Consultation with parents regarding their son’s academic, behavioral, or emotional needs
- Referrals to mental health providers in the community
- Coordination of care within the school for students working with a mental health provider outside of the school
Individual counseling offered through the school is primarily a short-term, temporary service aimed at providing immediate relief of acute distress, and facilitating more effective education and socialization of the student within the school community. While our counselors provide crisis intervention and regular consultation during normal school hours, these services cannot take the place of long-term, comprehensive psychological counseling. We maintain a list of excellent community mental health providers and regularly arrange for referrals for students and families in need. -
Academic Support
- Screening for academic difficulties
- Referrals for and coordination of psychoeducational assessment
- Review and evaluation of psychoeducational assessments to determine eligibility for classroom accommodations and supportive intervention
- Development of individual Learning Plans for eligible students
- Coordination with College Board and ACT to establish eligibility for accommodations for students with disabilities
- Coordination of annual standardized testing (ERB-CTP-IV)
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Health & Wellness Initiatives
Our psychologists are often in the classroom with students to provide Social Emotional Learning opportunities in service of our mission to produce well-rounded boys who know themselves physically, emotionally, academically, and spiritually.- Social Emotional Learning lessons in Lower School classrooms are focused on helping students understand and label their feelings and the feelings of others, and then regulate their feelings to help students achieve emotional well-being and success in interpersonal relationships
- In Middle School, 5th and-6th-grade students receive 16 45-minute Life Skills classes on topics including growth mindset, decision-making, addiction, building positive relationships, conflict resolution, anger management, and mental health
- The Upper School counselor coordinates and delivers grade-level learning on topics including relational health, study skills, organization, mental health, and substance abuse prevention
Frequently Asked Questions
List of 11 frequently asked questions.
Meet the Office
List of 5 members.
Resources
List of 14 items.
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Anxiety
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (2011)
Delivered from Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (2005)
ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kohberg and Kathleen Nadeau (2002)
The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents by Nancy A. Ratey (2008) -
Bullying
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Depression
Depression and How Psychotherapy and Other Treatments Can Help People Recover (American Psychological Association)
Depression Resource Center (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) -
Facts for Families Guide (AACAP)
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Hazing
Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers, and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment, and Humiliation by Susan Lipkins (2006)
InsideHazing.com
www.gordie.org ~ A national campaign to prevent alcohol abuse and hazing in memory of Gordie Bailey. The documentary HAZE tells Gordie’s story within the context of alcohol abuse and hazing.
StopHazing.org ~ Education and research to eliminate hazing. -
Parenting
Drug and Alcohol prevention resource for parents www.theparenttoolkit.org -
Psychoeducational Assessment Resources
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Sexual Orientation
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Stress
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Substance Abuse Prevention
www.fcd.org ~ FCD Educational Services works with schools to provide students with the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to make intelligent, healthy choices about alcohol and other drug use. Additional resources are available on their site.www.drugfree.org Resources for students and parents -
Suicide
Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas24-hour crisis line 214-828-1000Teen Contact24 hour crisis line 972-233-8336 -
ACT
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College Board (PSAT, SAT, and AP exams)
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
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.
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.
