Get To Know Rowland Hall

Rowland Hall celebrates and welcomes diversity. We believe that everyone benefits from exposure to a variety of lived experiences, and we have long been committed to the necessary work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn more about equity and inclusion at Rowland Hall. 

In 2021, Rowland Hall hired our inaugural director of equity and inclusion. This is the first endowed position in the school's history and ensures that we have a permanent, full-time leader to guide us in this important work. Learn more about Dr. Chandani Patel.

Rowmark Ski Academy—there is nothing quite like it in North America.

Rowmark Ski Academy has offered a rigorous, year-round ski-racing program coupled with an extraordinary high school since 1982. Students who thrive in our program are passionate about learning, and they’re highly motivated and hardworking athletes who love the sport. They’re also good citizens and worthy teammates. Our goal is simple: support every one of our elite student-athletes as they realize their potential on the race course and in the classroom.

Since our 1982 founding, we’ve served as a feeder program for the US Ski Team, and over the years Rowmark Ski Academy has trained many accomplished and decorated US Ski Team, World Cup, Olympic, and NCAA Division I alpine skiers. More importantly, our graduates thrive in a wide range of pursuits and careers.

Rowmark Junior Program offers an after-school/weekend ski program for Rowland Hall students in grades 3–8. We develop versatile skiers who understand ski racing basics and have a strong technical foundation in the sport. As they grow through our program, skiers become more self-reliant—we increase their level of competition, racing focus, and number of days on snow in order to prepare them for the rigor of our Academy, if they wish to apply. At every level, we aim to foster a lifelong appreciation of alpine skiing and racing, all in a fun, positive learning environment tailor-made for young athletes.

Rowmark Ski Academy and the Rowmark Junior Program empower student-athletes to develop their potential as world-class ski racers, be engaged learners, strengthen their social and emotional skills, build self-efficacy, and be contributing members of society. We’re honored when our alumni say that what they gained here was about so much more than skiing.

Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s School (known colloquially as Rowland Hall) is Utah’s oldest independent coeducational college-preparatory day school. Since 1867, when the Episcopal Church founded our school, our roots have grown deep into a community where academic achievement, service to others, appreciation for the arts, and ethical development are highly valued.

St. Mark’s Grammar School for boys was established in 1867 as Utah’s first educational institution. Then in 1880, Rowland Hall, an all-girls boarding school, was founded to educate the daughters of miners and ranchers in the Intermountain West. The Episcopal Church continued to sponsor both schools until 1948, when the schools became independent. While Rowland Hall is no longer an Episcopal school, we proudly honor our historic relationship with the Episcopal Church.

In 1964, St. Mark’s and Rowland Hall merged and committed to jointly continuing both institutions’ traditions of academic excellence. To this day, the mission of our founders remains the same: to inspire students to lead productive lives through a college-preparatory program that promotes the pursuit of academic and personal excellence.

For over a century, Rowland Hall occupied a historic campus on one city block in Salt Lake City’s Avenues neighborhood. Increased interest in quality education and small class sizes caused a surge of growth during the 1980s, so Middle School and Upper School students were moved to a renovated public school building on Lincoln Street in 1984. A new Middle School facility, connected to the Upper School, was completed in the summer of 1994. Students share access to the Larimer Center for the Performing Arts, the library and media center, the gymnasium, and the cafeteria, as well as other educational resources.

As the school’s program and student body continued to outgrow the beloved Avenues Campus, trustees purchased nine acres of land on Guardsman Way and a capital campaign was launched in 1999 to raise funds to build a new home for the school’s youngest students. The Philip G. McCarthey Campus opened its doors on December 2, 2002. In addition to its spacious classrooms and outdoor play areas, the McCarthey Campus features a computer lab, a science lab with indoor and outdoor exploration areas, the Steiner Library, St. Margaret’s Chapel, light-filled art and music studios, and a dining hall. The Beginning School is housed in its own “little red schoolhouse” adjoined by a large motor-skills gymnasium just for our youngest students. The Alan C. and Nancy M. Sparrow Field House and soccer field are used by Lower School students for physical education and by many of the school’s sports teams for practices and games.

In 2013, the school broke ground for a new campus that will one day unite all divisions of the school: the Richard R. Steiner Campus. Athletic fields for Winged Lions soccer teams were finished in the spring of 2013, and fundraising continues for the future phases of the project. The 13.2-acre property that will house the new campus for the middle and upper schools is immediately adjacent to the western edge of the McCarthey Campus.

Rowland Hall is proud of past accomplishments, and administrators, faculty, and trustees continue to plan and implement improvements to ensure ongoing academic excellence. This could not be accomplished without the generosity and loyalty of current and past parents and alumni. For their support—past, present, and future—we are extremely grateful.

Rowland Hall is accredited by the following organizations:

• Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS)
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• The Northwest Accreditation Commission
• Utah Department of Education

NWAIS Accreditation

NWAIS accreditation requires adherence to the highest standards of operation and best practices, and a commitment to their mission. The following core values guide the association’s interactions, services, and accreditation standards. These core values are essential to assisting schools in providing high-quality education for children.

• Independence
• Free and Open Inquiry
• Commitment to Diversity
• Ongoing School Improvement
• Collegial Relationships and Ethical Leadership

Read more about NWAIS accreditation requirements.

NAEYC Accreditation

All NAEYC-accredited programs, and all programs seeking NAEYC accreditation, are required to meet the 10 NAEYC Early Learning Program Standards and Criteria.

Read more about NAEYC accreditation requirements.

Memberships

The school is a member of the following organizations:

• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
• Independent School Data Exchange (INDEX)
• Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
• Malone Family Foundation Scholars Program
• The Heads Network
• The College Board
• Collegial Relationships and Ethical Leadership