Mark Day School

39 Trellis Drive

San Rafael, CA 94903

26 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on December 05, 2018

Mark Day School is a community where your student feels heard, where teachers and peers listen and where your student can explore new ideas, accelerate at his/her own pace as well as work together closely in diverse groups to find solutions to projects. Students are eager to learn and are respectful of each other here. It is evident in the school assemblies, in the hallways and in the community. Students are getting a very strong well thought out academic program and we feel that our student is in very capable hands. We can see our own son blossoming in front of our very eyes. As a family we are so happy to be a part of this supportive community and feel thrilled to have such capable, thoughtful, kind and visionary faculty, staff and administration.
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2018

Our family has been in the school for 9 years across 3 children and we couldn't be happier. To watch my now 8th grader grow from adorably sharing her New Year's resolution at school assembly as a kindergartener to making a speech in Mandarin while on a Beijing study trip as a 7th grader to 4000 students has me gratified for the leaders of tomorrow Mark Day is generating. Public speaking, character development, rigorous advanced math, reading and writing (MacBeth), global exposure with consistent interactions with people from South Africa, Costa Rica, and China, Mark Day is truly unique.
Submitted by parent on November 27, 2018

Mark Day is an amazing school all around. The community is so collaberative, engaged and supportive. My kids are thriving there in academics as well as socially. The leadership of the school is really thoughtful and are there for the parents and the students. Can't recommend it enough!
Submitted by parent on November 19, 2018

If you are looking for a K-8 school that offers a community of collaboration, cooperation, student challenge, broad opportunities for discovery and learning, and overall student and life readiness, then Mark Day School is the school. For nearly two decades (and currently), our family has been part of the Mark Day School community. Our first son, now twenty-three and a successfully employed Berklee College of Music graduate, attended Mark Day School from 2001-2010. Mark Day School was the educational foundation for this young man who, at his core, is honest, kind, respectful, hard-working, prepared, and educated. After selecting Mark Day School for our younger son, we have discovered that Mark Day School has both preserved and enhanced the foundational elements that drew our hearts and minds to the institution years and years ago, and four years past. Mark Day School is a community. A community where parents are seen and heard; and where students can explore and discover, garner key social and emotional skills, and successfully learn how to collaborate, communicate, and lead. The school helps prepare them for life.Their forward-thinking strategic and tactical methodologies have led to some of the most progressive initiatives in Digital Innovation, the Makers movement, Entrepreneurship, and Global Leadership.And the educators? The teachers have been, all in all, excellent. They are all different, with their specific styles and deliveries, and each one offers unique personalized opportunities for a child to flourish. We believe that our sons first grade teacher is the best teacher we have ever experienced in our lifetimes. If you are an engaged parent and want a challenging and broad K-8 experience that allows a student to be personally guided to be a participative, engaged and productive human being, this is the best educational investment you can make.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2018

So fortunate that my kids had this academic experience. The administrators are thought leaders preparing our kids for the uncertainty that they will meet as young adults, not just high school and college. This on top of an outstanding academic experience. Grateful.
Submitted by other on August 31, 2017

The teachers at Mark Day School are awesome. They are helpful and I was really prepared when I went to high school. I went to private high school and I was worried it was going to be hard but Mark Day School helped me be prepared for all my classes. I'm still friends with a lot of my friends from MDS, too.
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2017

Weak Unstructured Curriculum- Headstrong, pedantic school head who is more concerned with his own agenda than those of the educators (who have survived his "my way or the highway" culture and cuts. Autocratically Eliminated Decades Old Washington DC Trip, in favor of "bonding experience" Oregon rafting trip that had no input whatsoever from parents or students. It's a shame to see all that former headmaster Damon Kirby built destroyed by current administration. Think twice before spending $240,000 to have your child waste 8 years of their life at Mark Day School
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2017

Our two children attended Mark Day School from Kindergarten through 8th grade. One child aspires to be a professor, the other wants to work helping women and children. Our whole family had a wonderful experience there. Both children were appropriately challenged, and very prepared for a college prep independent high school, and college. We found the faculty and staff caring, dedicated and thoughtful in their relationships with our children. School leadership and governance was very strong. School traditions, like joke and holiday assemblies make it a fun and friendly place.What benefitted our shy and academic child and is somewhat unique to MDS, was the Chess team. Of course he learned life skills: winning and loosing gracefully, strategizing, time management, etc. What was unique was the culture surrounding the chess team, a group of kids who might not be normally appreciated. There is a tight bond stretching across the grades, and a camaraderie between the players. The entire community is supportive of the team, at the assembly preceding the tournaments, the entire school would chant a cheer to send the kids off.As parents, we enjoyed the MDS community and have several MDS parents with whom we are still close.
Submitted by parent on April 24, 2017

Like the parent who reviewed Mark Day in December, we’d choose this school again in a heartbeat. We have two children at Mark Day. Both have attended since kindergarten. I was initially skeptical about sending my kids to private school having gone to public schools my entire life. But if you look at the end product (the 8th graders) and you believe in the importance of the journey, you very quickly realize that there is something special about Mark Day. I don't think it is any one thing but how everything works together. Everything is so well thought out. From the rigorous and always improving curriculum (our son was exposed to writing paragraphs in K), to the exposure to other cultures (via partnerships and Passport Day), to the incorporation of SEL into everything, to the 7 pillars, to having P.E. every day, to the community (teachers, parents, staff), to outdoor ed. Our kids LOVE going to school and to learn. I'd love to take credit for that but I know much of that is due to Mark Day. I love how they get kids comfortable with public speaking. Our oldest was freaked out about that. Now he has no problem speaking in front of several hundred people. And they focus on building "grit." That was something I was afraid they would lose not going to public school and I know will serve them well when they are older.
Submitted by student on December 11, 2016

I have attended the school for the past 6 years and I am now graduating. When I went to public school I was a little overdone with homework but I learned a lot in not that much time. At Mark Day they try to hard to protect us and then when we get to high school we are slammed, stressed, and unready. many of the teachers are very nice and understand so the push you harder but that only starts to happen in 7th grade. This makes kids very unprepared for what lies ahead in life. Overall, I think that Mark Day is a pretty good school but you could find one with all of its attributes and more within the area.
Submitted by parent on December 06, 2016

We’d choose this school again, in a heartbeat, for our children. This is our family’s fifth year at the school, and it’s been a great learning environment for our children. Our kids love coming to school, they love their teachers, and their love their friends. We do, too. Being able to learn a language in kindergarten was important to our family. We like the focus on reading, math, the arts (our youngest loves music class) and the exposure to the world outside of Marin County through field trips, and visits to and from partner schools in China, Costa Rica, and South Africa. Highlights of us have been seeing our second grader travel virtually to countries like Japan, Kenya and Australia and make monthly visits to a local senior home. We value that our children have P.E. everyday—both for their physical well-being and because it helps them in other areas of their lives such as being a team player, resolving conflict, and with their learning when they’re back in their homerooms. We have found the teachers to be experienced and dedicated to their students, offering help before school, at lunchtime, and after school if one of our children needed to review a concept.
Submitted by parent on May 06, 2016

Mark Day has offered our family everything we could have hoped for in a school. We love the teachers, the community, our class's families in particular, the events, the head of school (he is incredible)... we are both educators and are so impressed on every level.
Submitted by other on May 22, 2015

I think reviews are helpful. However I think you need to take a balanced approach. Families generally spend a lot of time considering schools and do everything possible to ensure they find the right fit. Typically after a decision is made, parents tend to look for "proof points" that they indeed made the right decision. This is certainly what we did when we chose St. Mark's, now Mark Day School. We were involved, our child had plenty of friends. We did not have any real issues except my child was not learning all that much. I also witnessed a culture of lack of willingness or ability to problem solve. It was odd. I thought the administrators job was to take issues and turn them into learning opportunities for children and parents alike. I thought paying private school tuition meant I was a stakeholder in the school and my feedback would be valued or at least someone would pretend to value it. Nope. Not at Mark Day School. Stakeholder feedback was not valued by the board, by the administration...they have it all figured out. So get on the train and drink the kool-aide or get off. We eventually got off the train and so happy we did. My child learned more in three weeks at his new school than he did at Mark Day School. Does headmaster shake hands in the morning..absolutely! They do this at many schools. Did he know my child. Nope. Did he care or do anything about the fact my child was bored at school. Unfortunately not or we would still be there! You should carefully consider opinions and hopefully talk to many parents. Not the ones that started at Mark Day School in K and never looked back only to list all the school offers but the ones that can really dig deep about the curriculum. How their child is fairing versus national averages for other independent schools, how the math program stacks up against their neighbors public school, etc.. We found Mark Day School to be fairly innovative but behind in traditional academics. It was not the "academic rigorous" school that was promised. I am so happy we left when we did. My child is thriving at our new school and learning so much more! I write this not to upset anyone but to give an honest review. I am only sorry we wasted so much time at Mark Day School. I hear other parents tell me it's an "uphill battle" to get what they need for their students in terms of differentiation. Why? It's a strange place.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2015

We have one child at Mark Day School who has been there since kindergarten. We could not be happier with the academic program, especially the interdisciplinary approach to teaching and the new tinker lab! The school has a reputation for preparing their graduates well for high school. Believe it! By the time the 8th graders leave Mark Day, they are ready to hit the ground running. They know how to advocate for themselves, juggle multiple subjects and most importantly, develop confidence in themselves, This is a joyful place where the teachers and administrators are committed to providing just the right amount of rigor to challenge young minds yet infuse fun to make learning interesting. If you've ever watched Joe Harvey, the head of school, shaking each student's hands as s/he arrive at school in the morning,, you will see how well he knows each child and the mutual respect they have for one another.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2015

We have 2 very different learners at Mark Day School and both have been extremely well served by the school. Both love going to school and feel supported by their teachers. The academic program challenges and stretches them and yet they know that their teachers want them to be successful. They do a wonderful job of knowing and believing in kids. They know kids develop, learn, evolve and grow during their 9 years at the school. They teach kids to be self-advocates, resilient, to learn from their mistakes, to be great team players by collaborating on projects...these are all essential lessons and skills that are needed in high school, college and life. Teachers and administrators are so committed to the students - they have weekly faculty meetings after school, are always willing to find time to meet with parents and the upper division faculty meets each week to discuss each kid so that nothing slips through the cracks. We have an incredible head of school who knows kids, is a true educator and who has devoted countless hours to ensure that the school can continue to evolve with a new building that will strengthen campus and program.
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2015

The decision to send our child to Mark Day School was one of the best decisions we ve made as a family. There are so many reasons why I love this school--high academic standards, a thoughtful and innovative curriculum, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity, deeply committed teachers, and a truly exceptional head of school--but the simplest reason is that my child loves (and is thriving at) Mark Day School. At Mark Day, curiosity is encouraged and mistakes are considered stepping stones for success. Children learn to work collaboratively, think critically and problem solve. Social Emotional Learning, an integral part of the Mark Day School program, fosters emotional intelligence--students develop lifelong skills around empathy, self-advocacy, conflict resolution and more. We all have choices when we select an independent school--I am thrilled that our choice was Mark Day School.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2015

Mark Day School is average at best. It provides a comprehensive program and uses all the innovative "handles" in education today however ultimately we are finding the curriculum weak. A couple of examples, in first grade my daughter studied worms for 3 months. No kidding. Three months of math, science, reading around worms. My child had little to no interest in worms and no one cared. My child was bored and explained that to her teacher. She was told to be patient. Are you kidding me? Many of the teachers are caring and many of the teachers are tired. I think you will find this in many schools. The challenge at Mark Day School is the leadership team that would rather brush issues under the rug than deal with them head on. The attitude is "We know what is best." "You are fortunate to be here, now let us do our jobs." It is so unfortunate because if you are not willing to take a honest look in the mirror, you can't improve. I am also baffled by the fact the admin team is off campus enjoying their hobbies at 4:00 everyday, while strong administrators at other schools are working around the clock to address the needs of their students.
Submitted by parent on March 22, 2015

I have two kids at Mark Day School, and we have had a fantastic experience there. My kids classmates are diverse, ethnically and socio-economically. The global education is remarkable my kids have been able to meet and engage with kids and teachers from South Africa, China and Costa Rica. The curriculum is thoughtful and engaging from K to 8th grade. My kids look forward to school everyday. It is a fun, engaging and wonderful community. What I love best is the energy and vibe of the school it is a place where students, teachers and administrators want to be. It is a happy and joyous place to learn.
Submitted by parent on March 17, 2015

Every parent wants to give his child the best environment in which she can grow with opportunities, persevere through difficulty, and blossom with confidence. We love MDS because my child loves MDS. Some examples from both our perspectives: + classroom curriculum that uses evidence-based assessment, not just testing + interdisciplinary projects + social/emotional and service learning curriculum + amazing friends + motivated and loving teachers + foreign language instruction beginning in Kindergarten + music, drama, art each every week + public speaking + meaningful, daily interaction with students in other grades + student-driven leadership There are as many reasons for investigating a private school option as there are children, and I find it both surprising and irresponsible that any parent would caution another parent away without knowing anything about that family's reasons for considering the school. No one school is the right environment for everyone. I strongly encourage any prospective parent to investigate the school for himself and make up his own mind. Take these ANONYMOUS reviews with a grain of salt, mine included!
Submitted by other on March 12, 2015

I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about this school. As a recent college graduate moving back to the Bay Area, I think often of the school that gave me roots. Academically, it prepared me extremely well for both high school and college as we learned foundational study skills starting in Kindergarten and built on them through graduation. Moreover, I learned how to be a productive part of a learning community unlike many schools, at Mark Day, it is cool to be smart. This environment fostered a group of students who were openly enthusiastic to learn and took pride in doing so. But what really stands out in my memory, and still makes me feel the pull of home, is the school community itself. As students, we grew up here, and the teachers nurtured us as we did. Amidst this caring group of people, we felt safe to test our mental limits as students and grew confident in ourselves as individuals. -Alum