Menlo School

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Menlo offers more than 50 student clubs in the Upper School and 25 in middle school. These include a chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Model United Nations organization, Junior Classical League, Surfrider Foundation, Mock Trial, beekeeping club, chess club, garden club, and environmental club. In total, the Upper School has over 50 clubs and affinity groups. Both the Upper and Middle schools have active student councils.

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.asan.com/aspa1.htm |title=American Scholastic Press Association |accessdate=2012-02-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028004638/http://www.asan.com/aspa1.htm |archivedate=2010-10-28 }} [https://menlocoa.org The Coat of Arms] releases roughly six issues a year. It produces content for its online site and Instagram every few days. The current Editor-in-Chief is Asher Darling.

The Coat of Arms periodically publishes special editions on sensitive topics. In March 2023, a special edition covering sexual assault and harassment{{Cite web |date=2023-03-10 |title=The Coat of Arms issue 49.4 by The Coat of Arms - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/the_coatofarms/docs/49.4_all_v3a |access-date=2023-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310213205/https://issuu.com/the_coatofarms/docs/49.4_all_v3a |archive-date=March 10, 2023 }} contained a collection of articles about those topics, including survivor stories from students at Menlo's Upper School, as well as statistical information from a survey the school conducted about the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment in student's lives.

The Menlo Bard is a student-produced digital news magazine about arts and lifestyles. It has been around since 2012 and it is currently published semiannually. As of 2023, the Editor-in-Chief is Andrea Li.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-11 |title=Bard Winter 2023 by The Menlo Bard - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/themenlobard/docs/menlo_bard_winter_2023 |access-date=2023-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311190410/https://issuu.com/themenlobard/docs/menlo_bard_winter_2023 |archive-date=March 11, 2023 }}

{{As of|2023|03}}, 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.{{Cite web|url=https://menlomocktrial.org/results-history/ |title=Results + History |website=Menlo Mock Trial |date=March 20, 2022 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }} The team won the California State Championship in 2014, defeating the three-time defending champion La Reina High School of Ventura County.{{cite news |url=http://archive.vcstar.com/news/education/schoolwatch/la-reina-loses-state-mock-trial-competition/default.asp |title=La Reina Loses State Mock Trial Competition |newspaper=VC Star }}{{cite web |url=https://inmenlo.com/2014/03/24/menlo-schools-mock-trial-team-wins-state-championship/ |title=Menlo School's Mock Trial team wins state championship |website=In Menlo.com |type=press release |date=March 24, 2014 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }} In 2019, they won against Shasta High School of Shasta County. They also won in the state championship in 2023. 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. In 2023, Menlo School placed second at Providence. 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{{Cite news|url=http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lifestyle/2016-07-25/gladiator-winner/1776425165563.html|title = Gladiator winner |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007121819/http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lifestyle/2016-07-25/gladiator-winner/1776425165563.html |newspaper=San Mateo Daily Journal |date=July 25, 2016 |archive-date=October 7, 2016 }} and 2018, respectively.{{cite web |url=https://www.standupmocktrial.com/gladiator |title=Gladiator |website=Stand Up Mock Trial.com |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}

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|2022|04|lc=y}} they have won the tournament in 7 of the past 11 years.{{Cite web|url=https://menlomocktrial.org/norcal-history/|title=NorCal History|website=Menlo Mock Trial |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}

The school puts on musicals and plays. Artistic groups include the Knight and Mid-Knight Dancers, who produce an annual dance show, a chamber orchestra, and three choruses. Other notable groups include the national semifinalist cyber security team captained by student-visionary Max Talwar.

Athletics teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, boys football, girls flag 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 and 2018.{{cite news |url=http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=24697 |title=Menlo School boys win prestigious tennis title |website=Palo Alto Online |date=March 19, 2012 |orig-year=March 17, 2012 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}

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 experiences 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, which takes place in May, 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, through a program called Life After Menlo, 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.{{Cite web |title=M Term |url=https://www.menloschool.org/experience/m-term.php |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=www.menloschool.org |language=en}}

In 2022, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the complications it caused for global travel, the 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.{{Cite web|title=M Term Borderlands Program: Details and Application|url=https://us6.campaign-archive.com/?u=8537c89538aa89a4507d07433&id=35fedf701e&e=74c6f59698|date=January 14, 2022 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=us6.campaign-archive.com}} In 2023, the travel programs offered consisted of the three Borderlands trips from 2022, as well as a Menlo Abroad trip to Costa Rica. The program added trips to Cambodia and Tanzania in 2024.

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 classrooms.

The Spieker Center for the Arts was finished and unveiled in 2021 and includes a theater. The Spieker Center's basement houses storage spaces along with a green room and dressing rooms.

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 the school wanted to demolish it, but protests convinced them to restore it.{{cite news |url=https://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/news/1995_Feb_22.DOUGLASS.html |title=Atherton: Historic mansion to get new study |website=Palo Alto Online |date=February 22, 1995 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }} A new dining hall, student center and library were added on to Stent Hall in 2017. Structural steel and concrete shear walls were used in the new classroom and adjacent new library to help bolster up the hall.{{cite web |url=https://www.hohbach-lewin.com/stent-hall-menlo-school/ |title=Stent Hall, Menlo School |website=Hohbach-Lewin, Inc. |date=May 7, 2020 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}

In order to graduate, upper school students are required to complete 10 community service credits each year, events put on by the school or another organization.{{Cite web|url=https://www.menloschool.org/experience/upper-school-community-engagement.php|title = Upper School Community Engagement |website=Menlo School}} Menlo also has peer leadership and advocacy programs where students advocate within their group for all four years of high school.{{Cite web|title=A Supportive Community|url=https://www.menloschool.org/experience/supportive-community.php|access-date=2022-01-27|website=Menlo School}}

Nathaniel (Than) Healy has been the head of school since 2013 after replacing Norm Colb. John Schafer has been the Upper School Director since 2007.{{cite web |url=https://www.menloschool.org/about/school-leadership.php |title=School Leadership |website=Menlo School |access-date=April 13, 2022 }} La Vina Lowery joined Menlo in 2015 as the Middle School Director.{{Cite web |title=La Vina Lowery, Our Next Middle School Director |url=https://www.menloschool.org/live/news/995-la-vina-lowery-our-next-middle-school-director |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=www.menloschool.org |language=en}} The Director of Athletics is Earl Koberlein.{{Cite web|url=https://www.menloschool.org/athletics/|title = Athletics |website=Menlo School |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}

In a speech delivered on May 4, 2023, Head of School Than Healy revealed a shift in the demographics of Menlo students. According to Healy, in 2013, 29% of the student body self-identified as students of color, whereas in 2023, this figure had surged to 55%.{{Cite web |last1=Kawamoto |first1=Lucas |last2=Lew |first2=Sienna |date=May 6, 2023 |title=Healy Mentions New Facilities at Cartan in Annual State of the School Address |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr6UvQCPb2O |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=www.instagram.com}}

This demographic change came after Menlo instituted an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging program. In the 2015–2016 Diversity Strategic Plan, a goal of the school was to admit more students of color.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-21 |title=Diversity Strategic Plan - Google Drive |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRQORkOfHOfdSmXUVLoafr8N_8m-1dY-qcQe3dwnnXSY_dB1l71-6SMBmw4NsUPz0rRK0gFb7UcdZi0/pubhtml |access-date=2023-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521064006/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRQORkOfHOfdSmXUVLoafr8N_8m-1dY-qcQe3dwnnXSY_dB1l71-6SMBmw4NsUPz0rRK0gFb7UcdZi0/pubhtml |archive-date=May 21, 2023 }} They would achieve by gathering data of which schools students of color came from before conducting visits to these schools to improve bilateral relationships. To ensure Menlo met these goals, they would analyze admissions data to ensure significant demographic "improvements" occurred. Keith B. Wheeler II led the EDIB program until his departure in 2023. Since 2024, Marco Menéndez does.{{Cite web |last=Reich |first=Jacob |title=Marco Menéndez Named New Director of EDIB |url=https://menlocoa.org/23672/news/marco-menendez-named-new-director-of-edib/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=The Coat of Arms}}

The Valparaiso (Valpo) Bowl is an annual football game between Menlo School and the neighboring Sacred Heart that raises money for a local educational charity.{{cite web |date=November 6, 2012 |title=10th annual Valparaiso Bowl to benefit Peninsula Bridge on Nov. 9 |url=https://inmenlo.com/2012/11/06/10th-annual-valparaiso-bowl-to-benefit-peninsula-bridge-on-nov-9/ |website=InMenlo |accessdate=15 November 2019}} The first game was held in 2003. The Valpo Bowl name stems from both schools having a main entrance on Valparaiso Avenue.{{cite news |last1=Mazeika |first1=Vytas |date=October 31, 2018 |title=Valpo Bowl under the lights in Atherton for the first time |work=The Mercury News |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/31/valpo-bowl-under-the-lights-in-atherton-for-first-time/ |accessdate=November 12, 2019}}

Menlo won the following years:{{cite book |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55afa91ae4b0e1eb64f87ad8/t/58068aa48419c29b91836958/1476823719801/Valpo+Bowl+2016+Program.pdf |title=Valpo Bowl 2016 Program |date=October 14, 2016 |publisher=Peninsula Bridge |page=2 |accessdate=December 16, 2019}} 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2021, and 2024.{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=John |date=November 5, 2016 |title=Menlo snaps 4-game skid in Valpo Bowl series |work=The Mercury News (San Jose, California) |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/05/football-menlo-snaps-4-game-skid-in-valpo-bowl-series/ |accessdate=December 28, 2019}}{{Cite web |date=2021-11-07 |title=High school football: Menlo flips script on Sacred Heart Prep, claims Valpo Bowl trophy |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/06/high-school-football-menlo-flips-script-on-sacred-heart-prep-claims-valpo-bowl-trophy |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Reports |first=Team |date=2024-11-09 |title=Football Recap: Menlo School Find Success |url=https://www.maxpreps.com/news/JBV7wTu190Ckv2jV8RvK3g/football-recap-menlo-school-find-success.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110050808/https://www.maxpreps.com/news/JBV7wTu190Ckv2jV8RvK3g/football-recap-menlo-school-find-success.htm |archive-date=2024-11-10 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=MaxPreps.com |language=en}}

• Kevin Bass - All-Star outfielder for the Houston Astros who also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles
• Carlton Beal - American businessman, college professor and polo player
• Jon Beekhuis - former race car driver, television commentator.
• Robert (Bob) Billingham - American sailor and Olympic medalist{{Cite book |url=https://www.menloschool.org/live/files/4029-hall-of-fame-members |title=Menlo School Athletics Hall of Fame Members |publisher=Menlo School |type=PDF}}
• Jaye Boissiere - American professional soccer player
• Mike Bordin - professional drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and co-founder of Faith No More
• Allison Brennan - New York Times bestselling author of thrillers
• Maria Fadiman - ethnobotanist; named a 2006 National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer
• Dave Finocchio, Zander Freund, Bryan Goldberg and Dave Nemetz - founders of Bleacher Report{{cite web |url=http://www.menloschool.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=2069&ModuleID=35 |title=Advice from a Young Entrepreneur |website=Menlo School |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801034239/http://www.menloschool.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=2069&ModuleID=35 |archive-date=August 1, 2009 }}
• Jon Fogarty - professional race car driver
• Daniel Goldstein - musician, electronic music producer, and DJ better known by his stage name Lane 8
• Brad Greenspan - internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Myspace
• Dave Guard - American folk singer and founding member of founding members of the Kingston Trio. Class of 1952
• Lisa Dilling - interdisciplinary scholar and climate scientist
• Scott Harris - President of Baseball Operations for the Detroit Tigers
• Fredric Hobbs - American artist and filmmaker
• Gary Johnson - baseball player, played five games with the Anaheim Angels
• Robby Krieger - guitarist, member of The Doors
• Glenn Layendecker - former professional tennis player
• Richard Li - Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist
• Robert (Bob) Lurie - real estate magnate, philanthropist, and former San Francisco Giants owner
• John Matteson - biographer, 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner for Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
• Ahna O'Reilly - actress{{cite news |author= Chris Kenrick |url=http://paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=25208 |title=Actress returns to Menlo to discuss her career |newspaper=Palo Alto Weekly |date=May 1, 2012 |access-date=April 13, 2022 }}
• Chris Paine - filmmaker; writer and director of Who Killed the Electric Car?
• John Paye - former Stanford starting quarterback and basketball point guard; later drafted by the San Francisco 49ers
• Kate Paye - former Stanford women's basketball player; current Stanford Cardinal women's basketball head coach
• Madeline (Maddy) Price - Canadian athlete who competed as part of the Canadian Olympic team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo{{Cite web |title=Menlo Magazine Summer 2021 |url=https://www.menloschool.org/magazine/summer-2021/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210923111224/https://www.menloschool.org/magazine/summer-2021/|access-date=2023-03-11 |website=www.menloschool.org |page=31|archive-date=September 23, 2021 }}
• Anthony Pritzker, businessman and philanthropist, member of the Pritzker family
• Quadeca - YouTuber, hip hop artist, producer, and former video game commentator{{Cite web|title=2015-16 BOYS SOCCER ALL-LEAGUE TEAM|url=http://hs.wbalsports.org/alsocb1516.html|access-date=May 11, 2021|work=wbalsports.org}}
• Eric Reveno - former Stanford basketball player; current assistant college basketball coach at Oregon State University
• Jerry Rice Jr. - American former professional football player. Son of Jerry Rice
• Veronica Rossman - United States Appellate Judge. Class of 1990.
• Brandon Schneider - president and COO of the Golden State Warriors who was in the class of 1997 (not to be confused with Brandon Schneider){{Cite web |date=2021-09-23 |title=Menlo Magazine Summer 2021 |url=https://www.menloschool.org/magazine/summer-2021/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |page=30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923111224/https://www.menloschool.org/magazine/summer-2021/ |archive-date=September 23, 2021 }}
• Don Tollefson - American television broadcast journalist. Class of 1969
• Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Filipino sports and business executive
• Bob Weir - founding member Grateful Dead who attended in 1962
• Nick Woodman - founder and CEO of GoPro

• San Mateo County high schools
• National Association of Independent Schools

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Menlo School}}
• {{official website|http://www.menloschool.org}}
• Official website of [https://themenlobard.org/ The Menlo Bard]

{{San Mateo County, California Schools}}

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Category:Educational institutions established in 1915

Category:Private middle schools in California

Category:Private high schools in California

Category:High schools in San Mateo County, California

Category:Private preparatory schools in California

Category:1915 establishments in California