Above: St. Mark’s School class of 2014 may be happy to hear they graduated from one of the country’s best Christian boarding schools. Then again, they probably already believed that without any rankings. (submitted photo)
A website dedicated to identifying the best schools has bestowed the honor to St. Mark’s School. The private school located in downtown Southborough was listed among the top 30 Christian Boarding Schools in the country.
The Best Schools website listed the schools alphabetically without a rank. With only a few exceptions, the focus was on co-educational institutions.
Schools were purportedly chosen based on:
- Academic excellence and college counseling/preparation
- Programs for spiritual growth of students
- Extra curricular activities/enrichment
- Geographic, demographic, and theological diversity
But it’s not clear how elite this rank is. The article doesn’t specify how many schools were reviewed.
I found one website (Boarding School Review) that identified more than 100 Christian boarding schools in the U.S.. But I couldn’t narrow down how many of those were co-educational.
The Best Schools write up of St. Marks included:
Life centers around the residential community, even for day students. Every weekend activities are planned for students, from athletic events to visits to restaurants and places of interest. On two mornings a week, students are required to attend chapel, but there are several chapel services during the week which students can choose to attend if they wish. Qualified school counselors cover topics important to young people on their path to adulthood.
Co-curricular activities in athletics, the arts, and performance are offered. Additionally, students have the opportunity to participate in community service, as well as clubs to pursue personal interests. . .
St. Mark’s believes that community living means exercising kindness, responsibility, and understanding.
Interestingly, the site lists St. Mark’s School as “St. Mark’s Episcopal School”. Although it was rooted in Episcopal faith and shared history with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (both founded by Joseph Burnett), I can’t find anything that shows the school ever used that name.
