My 4 year old son has been attending St. Mark's preschool and aftercare program since he was 18 months and it has been so great for him. He'll be starting kindergarten in August and he's very well prepared and ahead of the game because of the entire dedicated staff of St. Mark's. They provide progress reports and conferences for the parents, make learning truly fun for the kids, with themed weeks like camping week (during which Ms. Sarah set up an enormous tent in the classroom!) and Dr. Suess week. Every teacher is so hands on, the ratio is around 2 teachers per 4 kids and the class size is small. The administration dept. is kind enough to work with my unusual custody arrangement and go above and beyond to ensure the parents and children are happy. The school is also involved in a lot of charitable organizations for less privileged children, and they have book drives, Christmas pageants and more to make the school a community. Once kids are in a certain age group, they go on field trips to the fire station, parks etc. Sometimes only walking trips! It's safe clean and my son will enter elementary school knowing how to read. Even better? There are scholarship options available!! read more

My son just "graduated" from pre-k at St. Mark's, and we already miss it. His teachers were absolutely wonderful; they really tailored their instruction to his abilities, which enabled him to maximize his learning. He had so many great experiences there -- fun & educational field trips, class events, visiting instructors, and so on. The school provides what in my opinion is the perfect balance of socialization and academic instruction. I'm sad he won't be going there any longer, but so thankful for the time he had with them. read more

We all share fond memories of our son attending St Marks when we first moved to Venice and he was 3. It was a great experience for everyone. Our son is almost 11 and is doing great. St Marks balanced life made it fun and memorable. Learning to swing and let go was special. The whole staff and teachers truly care . read more

My daughter just graduated preschool this past year. I was upset when her teacher left unexpectedly mid year without a real explanation as to why. A new teacher came in, and it was a little Chaotic at fist, but my daughter came to really like the new teacher and absolutely loved the school. I believe they worked really hard to target areas that the children needed help with and instilled great values! love the school. even though we moved 45 minutes away i am willing to make the drive!! great school, great teachers, such a great staff! read more

We enrolled our daughter at this pre-school and was disappointed greatly to the point of pulling her out after a week. She came home daily with stories of being bullied by her classmates and being unhappy. We couldn't get an answer from her classroom teacher because nearly everyday she had a new teacher. The answer we received from the staff was "oh their just being kids" which was unacceptable. Children were allowed to play too roughly with each other to the point of being hurt with little supervision. Many of the teachers were not board certified as well we found out later. My daughter was allowed to cry for long lengths of time without them notifying us of her behavior. We actually parked outside the school to watch her class playing in their playground and witnessed children crying, falling, throwing sand at each other and teachers not supervising the children but sitting down and chatting amongst each other. That was the point of no return after witnessing from afar the supervision and being told by my daughter that she hates and doesn't ever want to return to this school and the lack of concern by the staff we pulled her out immediately. Our daughter is very outgoing and friendly so her unhappy behavior was disheartening. We would not recommend this pre-school from our experience with them, but if you do decide to place your child here be very observant and check their teachers credentials from the state as they will claim board certification. We have since moved from the area and our daughter is doing exceptionally well in her new school. This was a harsh bitter learning experience in thoroughly checking and choosing schools for our children as their happiness and learning experiences matter most. read more