At a Glance
A faith-rooted Brooklyn elementary where the whole child — and the whole family — is the project.
Best suited for
Catholic families — or non-Catholic families comfortable with a faith-based formation — in southern Brooklyn who want a warm, affordable elementary with a clear path to Catholic high school and a real shot at free Pre-K.
What stands out
- Daily religion classes are built into the schedule, reflecting a Catholic formation model rather than a religion-as-elective approach.
- Free 3K for All and Pre-K for All seats — a real financial leg up in the early years and a meaningful way to test-fit the school before committing to tuition.
- A 98% Catholic high school acceptance rate signals strong preparation and an active guidance relationship with Brooklyn's Catholic secondary schools.
- Tuition tops out under $10,000 for 2026-2027, well below the typical private elementary range and closer to the cost of some parochial alternatives.
- SMARTBOARD technology in classrooms points to a school investing in basic instructional modernization, though it is not a tech-forward school by any stretch.
Things to consider
- Catholic identity is central — daily religion, faith-based values, and preparation for Catholic high school — so families who want a strictly secular education should look elsewhere.
- The school ends at 5th grade, so parents will face the middle school transition on their own; there is no built-in through-line.
- An 18.6:1 ratio is solid but not unusually small, and a 270-student enrollment means fewer specialty teachers and electives than larger independent schools.
- Rolling admissions reduces deadline stress but also means class composition can shift throughout the year — worth asking how seats are filled.
- As a parish-based Catholic academy rather than a national-brand independent school, the "extras" (arts, athletics, world languages) are likely more modest than at higher-tuition competitors.
Identity
St Mark is a Roman Catholic coed elementary serving PK through 5th grade, accredited by the National Catholic Educational Association. The school's stated philosophy centers on a "constructive learning environment infused with faith-based values" that balances the spiritual, scholastic, social, and physical sides of each child. It is the kind of school where religion class is daily, not optional, but where the broader formation of the child is the explicit goal.
Community
Enrollment sits at about 270 students with a student-teacher ratio of 18.6:1 — meaningful but not intimate. The student body is white-plurality (about 53%) with substantial Hispanic (roughly 19%), Black (around 16%), and Asian (about 10%) representation, putting the diversity index at 0.775. Parents describe it as welcoming and "most inclusive," and the rolling admissions window suggests the school draws from a broad patch of southern Brooklyn rather than a narrow feeder pattern.
Neighborhood
The school sits in the Sheepshead Bay–Manhattan Beach–Gerritsen Beach pocket of Brooklyn, a middle-class residential area where the median household income is about $79,600 and roughly 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The neighborhood has a notably lower poverty rate (around 13%) than many parts of Brooklyn and feels like a place where families settle for the long term, not just a few school years. The school itself is embedded in that residential fabric rather than set apart on a campus.
Sheepshead Bay (B, Q) is about a 4-minute walk, with Neck Rd (Q) around 12 minutes and Avenue U (Q) about 17 minutes — a genuinely commutable location for families from much of southern Brooklyn.
Notable Programs
What Parents Are Saying
Welcoming, family-oriented environment with excellent academic standards; described as most inclusive school with goal for absolute success of all students
Synthesized from public parent reviews · Apr 2026
Make this school part of your plan
Everything on this page is yours to read. An account keeps your research in one place.
No credit card required
Explore nearby
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY a good school?
- Published quality ratings aren't available for ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY yet on Motley. It's a private school serving grades Pre-K to 5 in Sheepshead Bay-Manhattan Beach-Gerritsen Beach.
- What grades does ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY serve?
- ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY?
- ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY runs its own private admissions process — typically an application, a visit, and sometimes testing.
- Is ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY public, charter, or private?
- ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY is a private school.
- What neighborhood is ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY in?
- ST MARK CATHOLIC ACADEMY is in Sheepshead Bay-Manhattan Beach-Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.