​St. Mark Scores A+ for Second Consecutive Year!

The 2023 Best Schools Rankings were just released by Niche.com and St. Mark School in Stratford earned an A+ grade for the second consecutive year. This distinction puts St. Mark School among the top 2.5% of schools in America!

The St. Mark School report card included the following grades:

• Academics: A
• Teachers: A
• Diversity: A+

Niche is the leader in K-12 and college school search with the most comprehensive data on U.S. schools and neighborhoods. Now in its ninth year, the rankings include updated data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools, and 11,820 school districts nationwide.

According to Niche, “A high ranking indicates that the school is an exceptional academic institution with a diverse set of high-achieving students who rate their experience very highly.”

“As principal of St. Mark School, I know our faculty and staff provide a vibrant learning environment that is warm and caring, promotes high academic expectations, and teaches morals, values, and Catholic virtues,” said Melissa Warner. “To be recognized for our strengths by Niche with the top ranking is gratifying to all of us who work hard to challenge and support our students’ growth and achievements every day.”

St. Mark School also earned the 2009 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award by the U.S. Department of Education, the highest academic recognition a school can achieve.

The school’s recent A+ report card is aligned with the national report card showing Catholic schools excelling post-pandemic. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, notes Catholic schools outperforming public school counterparts in almost all categories.

According to the NAEP, Catholic school students in grades 4 and 8 performed at or near the top in reading and math compared to public schools coming out of the pandemic. On October 24, 2022, NAEP released these findings based on assessments given every two years to students at grades 4 and 8.

Warner shares, “Since being named Principal in 2019, our school community has faced many challenges and together we came out stronger. We worked together to put our students first at St. Mark and I’m happy to share that our school community is growing.”

This year the school welcomed 79 new students and similarly they enrolled the same number in 2021.

“During the pandemic, many public school families transferred to St. Mark School because we offered 5-day in-person instruction,” added Warner. “I am thrilled to report that they found fulfillment in our Catholic community and have stayed.”

The current enrollment at St. Mark School is 234 students– an all-time high for the PreK-Grade 8 Catholic elementary school.

The school will host a Preschool and Kindergarten Open House for prospective families on Sunday, on November 13, 2022 from 10 am–12 noon. For more information, visit www.stmarkschool.org.