Menlo School

Menlo School, also referred to as Menlo, is a private college preparatory school in Atherton, California, United States. The school comprises a middle school, grades 6–8, with approximately 230 students and a high school, grades 9–12, with about 570 students. The middle and high school share a campus and have some overlapping administration, such as the Head of School. Menlo was established in 1915 and in 1927, a junior college was added, which later became Menlo College. The college was formally separated from Menlo School in 1994, but the two institutions shared a single dining hall until 2017, when Menlo School built a separate cafeteria.[1]

Not to be confused with Menlo-Atherton High School.

Menlo School
Stent Hall
Address
50 Valparaiso Avenue

Atherton
,
California
94027

United States
Coordinates37°27′12″N 122°11′30″W
Information
Former nameWilliam Warren School
TypeIndependent
Established1915
ChairKaren King
Head of schoolThan Healy
Faculty106
79 full-time
27 part-time
Grades6–12
Gendercoeducational
Number of students795 total
581 upper
214 middle
Average class size18 students upper
18 students middle
Student to teacher ratio10:1 upper
11:1 middle
Color(s)Navy and gold   
MascotKnight
Annual tuition$55,900 ['22/'23]
Websitewww.menloschool.org

Menlo School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of the National and California Associations of Independent Schools.

History

Menlo School was founded in 1915 as the William Warren School, an all-male military school with an inaugural enrollment of 13 boys. Warren, the founder and headmaster, sold the school in 1924 to a group of parents, who dropped the military focus and formed a new corporation under the name Menlo School for Boys.[1]

In 1927, Menlo became a non-profit governed by a newly created board of trustees. A two-year junior college, Menlo College, was created that year as an expansion of the school. During the college's early years, Menlo offered a hybrid prep school and junior college education. Students would attend the school for the latter two years of high school, then the college for two years, and then transferred directly into four-year universities as upper-division students.[1]

In the fall of 1979, Menlo School began transitioning from a boys-only school with a small boarding program to a coeducational day school. In the 1993–1994 academic year, Menlo further moved to increase the upper school's enrollment, added grade 6 to the middle school, and further expanded its female enrollment.[1]

The college and school were split on June 30, 1994, with further, more specific separations following. Menlo School and Menlo College became formally independent entities with separate boards, administrations, and faculties. In 2008, they further agreed to the formal legal subdivision of their hitherto shared land into two separate parcels. The only area of the campus that continues to be jointly owned and managed is the Menlo Athletic Quad, consisting of the athletic fields and track.[1]

Following a fundraising effort that began in the late 1990s, both the middle and upper school campuses have been mostly rebuilt. The projects were completed in 1999 and 2004, respectively.[1]

Student life

Menlo offers more than 50 student clubs in the upper school and 25 in middle school. These include a chapter of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), Model United Nations organization, Junior Classical League, Mock Trial, beekeeping club, chess club, and environmental club. Both the upper and middle schools have active student councils.

Student publications

The Upper School's student-run newspaper, The Coat of Arms, has won awards, including Top Honors – First Place with Special Merit from the American Scholastic Press Association.[2] The Coat of Arms releases roughly six issues a year. It produces content for its online site and Instagram every few days.

The Menlo Bard is a student-produced digital news magazine about arts and lifestyles. It has been published about five times a year since 2012.

Mock Trial

As of March 2022, Menlo's Mock Trial team has won San Mateo County competitions in 14 out of the past 15 years and has been in the top 8 at the California State Championships in 9 of the last 11 years. From 2011 to 2018, it had a perfect 80-0 record in the county.[3] The team won the California State Championship in 2014, defeating the three-time defending champion La Reina High School of Ventura County.[4][5] In 2019, they won against Shasta High School of Shasta County.[3] Outside California, the team won the Providence Cup, a pre-season national mock trial tournament held in Denver, Colorado, in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021.[3] Menlo won the American Championship Invitational, a tournament for states' second and third place squads, in 2009. Team members Andy Parker and Tiffany Tam won the Gladiator Individual World Championships in 2016[6] and 2018, respectively.[3][7]

With Stanford Mock Trial, Menlo also hosts the annual NorCal Mock Trial Invitational, the first tournament in California outside the normal CRF competition to be scored; as of April 2022 they have won the tournament in 7 of the past 11 years.[8]

Other activities

The school puts on musicals and plays. Artistic groups include the Knight Dancers, who produce an annual dance show, a chamber orchestra, and three choruses.

Athletics teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, water polo, and volleyball. The Knights previously competed in the Peninsula Athletic League, and now compete in the West Bay Athletic League. During the 2009–2010 school year, every varsity team participated in postseason competition, and some went on to state competitions. The boys' tennis team claimed the national tennis title at the National High School All-American Foundation in 2010, placed second in 2011, and won again in 2012.[9]

MTerm

MTerm is an end-of-year enrichment opportunity for freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. In the 2017-2018 school year, it replaced Knight School, which was a one-week period that offered alternative intellectual explorations such as volunteer trips to work with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans, cooking classes, and video game design seminars instead of conventional classes.

During MTerm, each grade level focuses on a different topic. Freshmen study environmental issues and spend half of MTerm on campus, participating in educational activities and workshops, and the other half on day trips to explore local ecosystems and conservation efforts. Sophomores delve into social issues such as equity and justice, participating in discussions and activities that explore these topics in depth. Juniors participate in a Junior Project, where they research and investigate a topic of their choice and present their findings to their grade. Seniors focus on life after high school and building connections with their classmates before they graduate and move on to college. All students in grades 9-11 have the option to participate in a travel program as part of their MTerm experience.[10]

In 2022, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the complications it caused for global travel, Menlo School's traditional Menlo Abroad program was temporarily suspended. In its place, the school introduced The Borderlands program, which focused on trips to Arizona and Texas to educate students about the Navajo Nation, issues of sustainability, and the complexities of the US-Mexico border.[11]

In 2023, Menlo's MTerm travel programs will consist of the three Borderlands trips from 2022, along with a Menlo Abroad trip to Costa Rica.

Buildings at Menlo

Menlo's athletic center contains two basketball courts, one full-sized, with drop-down volleyball nets. The gym also has athletic training rooms, a dance room, conference rooms, offices, workout facilities, and locker rooms.

The Creative Arts and Design Center contains spaces for artists in the upper school, and has band and dance rooms. The upper floor includes drama, photography, journalism and computer science spaces.

Recently completed buildings include a new dining hall, student center and library that were added on to Stent Hall in 2017, and The Spieker Center for the Arts, which was finished and unveiled in 2021.

Stent Hall, once a mansion called Douglass Hall, was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and was closed for several years. At first Menlo wanted to demolish it, but protests convinced the school to restore it.[12] It was stabilized by the addition of a new library beside it and of steel supports.[13]

Academic programs

In order to graduate, upper school students are required to complete 10 community engagement credits each year, which involve participating in community service events put on by Menlo or another organization.[14] Peer leadership and advocacy programs give freshmen the opportunity to make connections with upperclassmen and faculty members as they begin their time at the school. Students stay with their advocacy group and advocate for all four years of high school.[15] The faculty includes academic trainers who support students both academically and mentally.

Menlo has implemented programs designed to encourage lifelong learning.

Faculty

The faculty at Menlo School is highly educated, with the majority holding advanced degrees. The full-time faculty includes over 60 individuals with master's degrees, 10 with PhDs, and 2 with J.D.s.

Than Healy has been the head of school since 2013, John Schafer has been the Upper School Director since 1999.[16] La Vina Lowery joined Menlo in 2015 as the Middle School Director.[17] The Director of Athletics is Earl Koberlein.[18]

Traditions

Valpo Bowl

The Valpo Bowl is an annual football game between Menlo School and the neighboring Sacred Heart that raises money for a local educational charity.[19] The first game was held in 2003. The Valpo Bowl name stems from both schools having a main entrance on Valparaiso Avenue, although the contest itself is usually held at a neutral venue.[20]

The schools have won the following years:[21]

  • Sacred Heart: 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017,[22] 2018,[23] 2019[24]
  • Menlo: 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2016,[25]2021[26]

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "History". www.menloschool.org. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  2. "American Scholastic Press Association". Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  3. "Results + History". Menlo Mock Trial. March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  4. "La Reina Loses State Mock Trial Competition". VC Star.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Menlo School's Mock Trial team wins state championship". In Menlo.com (press release). March 24, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. "Gladiator winner". San Mateo Daily Journal. July 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016.
  7. "Gladiator". Stand Up Mock Trial.com. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  8. "NorCal History". Menlo Mock Trial. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  9. "Menlo School boys win prestigious tennis title". Palo Alto Online. March 19, 2012 [March 17, 2012]. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  10. "M Term". www.menloschool.org. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  11. "M Term Borderlands Program: Details and Application". us6.campaign-archive.com. January 14, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  12. "Atherton: Historic mansion to get new study". Palo Alto Online. February 22, 1995. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  13. "Stent Hall, Menlo School". Hohbach-Lewin, Inc. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  14. "Upper School Community Engagement". Menlo School.
  15. "A Supportive Community". Menlo School. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  16. "School Leadership". Menlo School. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  17. "La Vina Lowery, Our Next Middle School Director". www.menloschool.org. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  18. "Athletics". Menlo School. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. "10th annual Valparaiso Bowl to benefit Peninsula Bridge on Nov. 9". InMenlo. November 6, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  20. Mazeika, Vytas (October 31, 2018). "Valpo Bowl under the lights in Atherton for the first time". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  21. Valpo Bowl 2016 Program (PDF). Peninsula Bridge. October 14, 2016. p. 2. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  22. Reid, John (November 4, 2017). "Valpo Bowl turns into thriller". The Mercury News (San Jose, California). Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  23. Reid, John (November 11, 2018). "Valpo Bowl XVI: Sacred Heart Prep crushes rival Menlo School". The Mercury News (San Jose, California). Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  24. Reid, John (November 9, 2019). "Gators rule Valparaiso with football win over Menlo". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  25. Reid, John (November 5, 2016). "Menlo snaps 4-game skid in Valpo Bowl series". The Mercury News (San Jose, California). Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  26. "High school football: Menlo flips script on Sacred Heart Prep, claims Valpo Bowl trophy". The Mercury News. November 7, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  27. Casey, Nicholas (June 15, 2021). "My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am". The New York Times magazine. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021.
  28. "Advice from a Young Entrepreneur". Menlo School. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009.
  29. "Lifelong Learner? Come to Menlo Knight Class". Menlo Magazine. Menlo School. Summer 2021. p. 28. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  30. Chris Kenrick (May 1, 2012). "Actress returns to Menlo to discuss her career". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  31. "2015-16 BOYS SOCCER ALL-LEAGUE TEAM". wbalsports.org. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
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