Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School

Rowland Hall
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
United States
Information
Type Independent
Established 1867
Grades PreK–12
Mascot Winged Lions
Website

rowlandhall.org

Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School
Location 205 1st Ave.,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Coordinates 40°46′17″N 111°52′55″W / 40.77139°N 111.88194°W / 40.77139; -111.88194Coordinates: 40°46′17″N 111°52′55″W / 40.77139°N 111.88194°W / 40.77139; -111.88194
Area less than one acre
Built 1870
Architectural style Colonial Revival, Italianate,
Eclectic Georgian Revival, Other
NRHP Reference # 79002504[1]
Added to NRHP July 26, 1979

Rowland Hall–St. Mark's (RHSM) is a 2PreK through 12 independent college preparatory school Salt Lake City, Utah. Currently over 950 students attend Rowland Hall, which provides a challenging education for students with a focus on preparation for college and ethical behavior and service to others. The current headmaster is Alan Sparrow. This school has 100 teachers, with around 32 high school teachers. Founded in 1867, Rowland Hall is the oldest school in Utah.[2]

History

RHSM traces its roots to St. Mark's School, which was founded in Salt Lake City by Episcopal Bishop Daniel Sylvester Tuttle in 1867. In support of newly established public schools in the Utah Territory, St. Mark's School was closed in the early 1890s. However its sister school, Rowland Hall, remained open.

RHSM has operated as a school continuously since Rowland Hall was founded by Bishop Tuttle in 1880 as a boarding school for girls from ranches in neighboring states; the school opened on the First Avenue campus in Salt Lake City. The historic building was originally a home built by George D. Watt in about 1862.[3] Rowland Hall is the oldest school in continuous operation in Utah, predating the establishment of public schools in the Utah territory. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the Episcopal Diocese of Utah could no longer afford to support the school, graduates and parents assumed financial responsibility and reorganized Rowland Hall as an independent school.

In 1956, St. Mark's re-opened as an independent day school for boys in two historic houses and a so-called tin shed that were located next door to Rowland Hall, sharing the same city block. St. Mark's merged with Rowland Hall in 1964 to become Rowland Hall-St. Mark's, an independent coeducational school.

The Middle and Upper Schools moved to the Lincoln Street Campus in 1984. The Lower and Beginning Schools moved to the McCarthey Campus on Guardsman Way in 2002. The historic campus on First Avenue was sold to the Madeleine Choir School.

Academics

Rowland Hall's rigorous academic program has traditionally prepared its students for college. Universities and colleges attended by Rowland Hall graduates include Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, and smaller private colleges across the U.S., including Pomona College, Lewis and Clark, Reed, Whitman, Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan and Westminster. Graduates also choose state universities, including the University of Utah. Award-winning teachers include Joel Long, who won the Mayor's Artist Award, and Mike Roberts who won a Hoey Award.

Sports

The Rowmark Ski Academy was founded in 1982 by Olle Larsson and Dr. Carl Kjeldsberg as part of Rowland Hall's upper school. It offers a combination of academics and complete year-round competitive ski racing program for its student-athletes, who train at Park City Mountain Resort’s 2002 Olympic Race Arena. Nine Rowmark athletes have been named to the U.S. Ski Team including Erik Fisher, Nick Baker, Roger Brown, Keely Kelleher, Courtney Hammond, Kiley Staples, Jennifer VanWagner, Tague Thorson, Alice McKennis. Other notable Rowland Hall alumni include Hilary Lindh, Picabo Street, James "Gerbs" Bauer, Eric O. Bodnar, Kristi Terzian, Ovidio Garcia, Spencer Eccles, Jeremiah Thompson, Alexandra Shaffer, Amber Guaraglia, Rob Saunders, Levi Leipheimer, Adam Cole, Jonathan Bebbington, and Charles Christianson.

The men's tennis team won 4 consecutive state championships from 2000–2004, also beating many of the larger schools in Utah who often went on to win state championships in the 3A, 4A, and 5A divisions during those years. After a 3-year drought, RHSM tennis rebounded, as the men won 5 consecutive 1A/2A state titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011; the first such streak ever for the RHSM boys.

The women's tennis team also enjoys multitudes of success, being successfully coached by Head tennis Coach Timothy Sleeper and Assistant Coach Susan Daynes to 4 consecutive state titles, from 2004 to 2008.

Debate

The Winged Lions policy debate team enjoys a good deal of success on the extremely competitive national policy circuit. With a total of 13 bids to the 2015 Tournament of Champions, 9 bids to the 2010 Tournament of Champions, and 7 bids to the 2008 TOC, the school has established itself as a major player nationally. The RHSM top team reached quarterfinals of the 2008 and 2010 TOC, the best finish for any Utah team in the state's history. In 2015, 2 RHSM teams made it to the octafinals, making the school the only one to clear two teams at the TOC. Additionally, the team recorded the best finish ever for a Utah school at NFL Nationals, taking 3rd place in June 2009, and 2nd place in 2010. A similar record was set in the 2015 National Debate Coaches' Association Championship, which ended with RHSM taking 3rd place. A former RHSM debater, Andrew Arsht, went on to win the National Debate Tournament twice in college.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Clark, Mary R. (Summer 1980). "Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School: Alternative Education for More than a Century". Utah Historical Quarterly. 48 (3): 273.
  3. ↑ Jessie Embry (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School" (PDF). National Park Service. and accompanying nine photos
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