Academics
Although St. Mark's has modernized its curriculum from the early days of almost total emphasis on Latin and Greek, the school still looks to its Latin motto as an inspiration for its mission of training future leaders. "Age Quod Agis" literally translates to "Do What You Do." A more contemporary translation might be: "Whatever you choose to do, do it well."
The scale on which this mission is carried out is considerably greater now than it was in the school’s first academic year. Initially, the school employed one faculty member and educated a dozen boys. The school now employs more than 60 faculty members and welcomes more than 330 students each fall. Students, boys and girls, come not only from New England but from around the world. Girls have been admitted since the 1970s, when the school reached an agreement for coordinated education with the nearby Southborough School, a newly founded institution for girls. In 1977 the Southborough School merged with St. Mark’s.
For the 2008 - 2009 academic year, according to Boarding School Review, St. Mark's accepted approximately one applicant in four, with a student body now evenly split between girls and boys. St. Mark's world language program is one of the nation's best, despite the school's small size, with 13 finalists in a nationwide French exam and five in German, according to St. Mark's website. For the 2007 - 2008 academic year, the school newspaper, The St. Marker won an American Scholastic Press Association award for excellence. Seventy percent of St. Mark's students taking the AP tests in 2008 earned grades of 4 or 5, according to Headmaster John Warren in a September 2008 letter to the school community. St. Mark's 2008-2009 "Fact Sheet" notes that eight students were Commended National Merit Scholars last year. St. Mark's music department is particularly strong, and the school runs a summer music program annually.
St. Mark’s remains academically focused, providing a rigorous liberal arts program stemming from a classical tradition, and prepares its students for entry to competitive colleges and universities. It is characterized by small classes, close student-teacher relationships, and a strong emphasis on the sporting life as a complement to the life of the mind. The recent completion of additional facilities for the arts and theater have greatly enhanced these possibilities on campus.
Read more about this topic: St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
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