St. Mark Lutheran School in the midst of capital campaign
When St. Mark Lutheran School began in 1949, it had 18 pupils, kindergarten through eighth grade.
This year, the Spring Branch-area school at 1515 Hillendahl had 350 pupils in early childhood, elementary and middle school programs (6 weeks old through eighth grade) and principal Dallas Lusk expects the student population to approach 400 for the 2016-17 school year.
“Our enrollment has increased for the last four years,” Lusk said.
That’s why SML has made plans to add a twostory, 45,000-square-foot building to its 18-acre campus. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin this fall.
“We have a waiting list, so we know we would have more students if we could just add classrooms,” Lusk said.
To pay for the building project, SML launched a $5 million capital campaign last November. As of early June, the school had raised $2.4 million, nearly half its goal.
“It’s the largest campaign the school has ever done,” Lusk said.
Once the additional building is completed, SML should be able to accommodate a total of 50 pupils, Lusk said.
In the meantime, the school has been doubling its early childhood and elementary classes.
One of the reasons demand for the school is increasing, Lusk said, is the strength of its academic programs.
Its kindergarteners, for
example, have scored in the 99th percentile in standardized testing during the last nine years, Lusk said.
“Kindergarten is such an important grade, and it sets that foundation for success.
“Our teachers do a great job.”
In middle school, SML offers pupils the opportunity to take high schoolcredit/accelerated courses in pre-algebra, algebra and Spanish.
The school also capitalizes on opportunities to pair its older pupils with some of younger ones through the Reading Buddies program.
Participating middle school pupils read to early childhood and elementary pupils.
The older ones build leadership experience, and the younger ones gain positive role models.
The buddies also sit together during chapel.
“The little ones love that,” Lusk said.
He said he’s confident SML pupils excel because of the full package they receive, from challenging courses and supportive faculty to extracurricular activities and opportunities to grow as leaders.
“One of the things I’m proudest of is that 12 of our students in the last 12 years (one student per year) have gone on to be the valedictorian or salutatorian in their graduating high school class,” Lusk said.
“That’s both in private and public schools.”
This year, a SML alum Daniel Villagomez was a co-salutatorian at Westchester Academy for International Studies, a Spring Branch Independent School District school.
“These students have gone on not just to be successful, but at the top of their class,” Lusk said.
St. Mark Lutheran School, located near Interstate 10 and Wirt Road, serves pupils from the Spring Branch/Memorial area, along with the Houston Heights, Timbergrove, Katy and one family from Pearland. For details, visit http://gostmark.org or call 713-468-2623.