The Menlo Park City School District faces mega decisions as it embarks on a planning and rebuilding program for its four schools, fueled by the $91-million bond measure approved by 70 percent of the voters June 2.
“We’re planning facilities for the next 30 years,” said Superintendent Ken Ranella. “The substantial planning process this fall will involve the staff and community and include reconfiguration of the elementary schools and (attendance) boundary changes.”
“We also need to determine the scope of the Hillview Middle School project and examine all options,” said Mr. Ranella. He emphasized that no decisions have been made about Hillview. Earlier options proposed were to modernize the middle school or rebuild it.
More students — primarily in kindergarten and the early grades — are coming to Menlo Park schools, stretching facilities, particularly at Laurel and Oak Knoll schools, and impacting Hillview as they move up to the upper grades.
When schools opened August 24, some 2,255 students were enrolled, 183 more than last year. Enrollment is growing at 5.7 percent faster than projected last fall by the district’s enrollment consultant.
“The challenge is to maintain the quality of the program and accommodate the growth,” said Mr. Ranella.
Two portable classrooms were moved onto both the Laurel and Oak Knoll sites during the summer.
Now in its second year, the 21st Century Classroom pilot program for integrating technology into classrooms involves 25 teachers who receive training and use class sets of 20 laptop computers on carts that are rolled into the classrooms, “smart boards” instead of whiteboards, and other educational technology.
“Differentiation” of instruction — tailoring teaching methods to the different learning styles of children — continues to be a focus at all schools. It’s the topic at staff planning days, coaching sessions, and visits to other schools.
“Our test scores are up, and parents are pleased,” said Mr. Ranella.
The district is continuing to expand its special education services. Students who used to go to programs as far away as San Bruno and San Mateo can now go to programs in the district. The goal is to provide more effective and less costly services. A new special day class for moderate to severely handicapped children will open at Oak Knoll School.
Olivia Mandilk, the district’s full-time director of student services, has plans to serve more of the district’s preschoolers, ages 3 and up, in a program at Oak Knoll that uses the district’s first occupation therapist and special education specialists.
Following is information on the district’s four schools, where classes began Thursday, August 24.
LAUREL
95 Edge Road
Atherton
Phone: 324-0186
Nancy Hendry, principal
Grades: K-2
Enrollment: 489
More students. Enrollment has grown by 37 students, 7.9 percent more than last year’s peak of 453.
Small classes. Kindergartners and first- graders will be in classes of 20 or 21 students. Second-graders will be in classes of under 20 students.
New teachers. Five teachers joined the Laurel staff this year, and two more have returned from leaves and will job- share. Christen Oberdoerster, student teacher at Laurel last year and a Notre Dame graduate, takes over a kindergarten classroom from Robin Allen, who retired. New first-grade teachers are Masie Chin, who taught many years at Henry Ford School in Redwood City, and Mia Henry, from Belmont’s Central School. Andrea Mazzoncini, former long-term substitute at Laurel, will teach second grade. Emily Matthews, student teacher in the Portola Valley and Palo Alto districts, was hired for an additional second grade class. Back from a leave, Jeanne Wynne will job-share a kindergarten class with Sydney Merk, and Kristen Gracia, also on leave last year, returns to job-share with Stacei Santana in first grade.
Vice-principal. Linda Creighton has moved out of the classroom at Laurel and into the office to become the school’s part-time vice-principal.
More portables. Two new portable classrooms were moved on campus this summer. One portable will house a new second grade, and the other will be offices for Bets McKnight, district language specialist and adviser for new teachers: Diana Holmes, district language specialist; Marla Dahlby, Laurel’s physical education specialist; and Leah Strichartz, Laurel’s science instructional aide.
Focus on learning. Laurel’s entire teaching staff is involved in an ongoing program that focuses on children’s learning styles and teachers’ teaching styles. It’s called “The Thoughful Education Model,” said Principal Nancy Hendry. Lane Narvaez, principal of Conway Elementary School in St. Louis County, came to Laurel earlier this month for two days to coach teachers in using “differentiated instruction” in their classrooms. She will return for sessions October 20 and January 18 and 19. Six Laurel teachers, Assistant Superintendent Jo Mitchell and Principal Hendry will visit classrooms and meet with Ms. Narvaez in St. Louis November 19 and 20. This program is funded by the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and the district.
Back-to-school night. Parents on Thursday, September 7, at 7 p.m. will visit their children’s classrooms, meet their teachers and learn about the year’s programs.
“Quarter Gourmet.” A favorite event returns for another year when families bring dishes to share, pay a quarter for each serving, and get to know each other. The first Quarter Gourmet is Friday, September 8, at 5 p.m. on the second-grade playground.
First PTO meeting. Parents are invited to the first general meeting of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization on Wednesday, September 20, starting at 6:15 p.m. with hors de oeuvres.
Book fair. Save the date for Laurel’s annual book fair Monday through Friday, October 9-13.
OAK KNOLL
1895 Oak Knoll Lane
Menlo Park
Phone: 854-4433
David Ackerman, principal
Grades: K-5
Enrollment: 714 students, an increase of 58 students from last year, up 8.9 percent.
Class sizes. Classes will be close to the district targets of 20 students in grades K-3 and an average of 24 students in grades 4 and 5.
More students, more portables. Enrollment is growing 10 percent this fall. The growth spans all grade levels, but is especially high in primary grades, said Principal David Ackerman. Two portable classrooms were moved to the campus this year. A kindergarten class — the school’s seventh — and a special day class for moderately to severely handicapped students have been added.
Teachers: Three teachers have joined the Oak Knoll staff. Caryl Brewbaker, who taught for 15 years in the Burlingame district, has been added to the fifth-grade team. Helga Dinning, primary teacher and reading specialist from the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District, is a new member of the reading specialist team. Alex Ruth, who previously worked in the county special education program, heads Oak Knoll’s new special education class. Jean McCann, a former kindergarten teacher at Laurel and more recently a teacher at Oak Knoll in the English as a special language program, will teach a new all-day kindergarten class.
Focus. The Oak Knoll staff is focusing on how to better meet the needs of students, including high-level readers, through various teaching approaches.
Technology. Three classroom sets of 20 mobile laptop computers on carts will be used by students in grades 2, 4 and 5 this year as teachers and students use technology to expand learning. The Oak Knoll PTO bought one of the mobile classroom labs. Kindergartners and first- and second-graders will use the school’s computer lab.
Garden grows. The new school garden is being used by all grade levels as part of the curriculum in science, math and social studies. There are plans to develop a Native American garden.
Back-to-school night. On Thursday, September 7, parents will meet teachers and learn about school programs. Starting times are 6:30 p.m. for grades K-2 and 7:30 p.m. for grades 3-5.
Fall Family Fiesta. Families will return to school Friday, September 15, for a social time, casual dinner and games, from 5 to 7 p.m. Purchase tickets in advance.
Memorial Family Bike Ride. Oak Knoll School is sponsoring a family bike ride Sunday, September 17, at 8 a.m. to honor Michelle Mazzei, the fourth-grade teacher and triathlete who lost her life in a bike-car accident last October. Former students of Ms. Mazzei, as well as friends and community members, are invited to register and ride the 1.5-mile Otter Run loop up to four times. Registration fee is $20 for adults, $10 for students. Forms are available at the school office. The event also benefits the Michelle Mazzei Fund for Education at the nonprofit Environmental Volunteers.
ENCINAL
195 Encinal Ave.
Atherton
Phone: 326-5164
Stacy Marshall, principal
Grades: 3-5
Enrollment: 395, up 24 students, about 6 percent, from last year.
Classes. Class sizes are 19 and 20 students in third grade, 24 students in fourth grade, and 22 or 23 students in fifth-grade. The growth in enrollment is spread across all three grade level.
Teachers. Encinal welcomes two new teachers, who are familiar with the school and district. Anne Beede, a long-term substitute last year at Encinal, returns to teach third grade. Marianne Santo, who was a student teacher and a long-term substitute at Hillview, joins the fifth-grade teaching team.
Focus. Teachers will continue to focus on student writing skills, and assessing and meeting the needs of students as enrollment grows.
“Character Counts.” This character education program, involving all students, will continue and expand this year.
“Community Read.” Everybody at Encinal — students, staff and parents — will read the same book and get together for an evening discussion in the spring. The title of this year’s book will be revealed later in the school year. This program promotes the love of reading and literacy and has received a Kent Award from the San Mateo County School Boards Association.
Garden keeps growing. Encinal’s garden, planted in raised beds along Middlefield Road, continues to be a focus for each of the grades. Third-graders planted “mystery seeds” and charted their growth. Fourth-graders are concentrating on raising plants native to California. Fifth-graders will plant and harvest wheat. Each activity is geared to the state curriculum for the grade-level. The tall sunflowers just keep growing.
Back-to-school night. Parents are invited to come to school at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 30, to meet teachers and learn more about school programs.
Fall family picnic. Families bring a picnic supper for this annual get-together on Friday, September 15, at 6 p.m. on the grass.
HILLVIEW MIDDLE
1100 Elder Ave.
Menlo Park
Phone: 326-4341
Michael Moore, principal
Grades: 6-8
Enrollment: 657, about the same as last year.
Class size: Core classes (language arts and social studies) range from 22 to 26 students at each grade level.
Teachers. Joining the Hillview staff is Rob Kashima, a former dietician now in his “second career” teaching sixth- and seventh-grade science. He takes over from Hillview’s Julie Willard, who is working on a National Science Foundation project for two years. New teacher Brenda Keith joins the special education team.
Electives: “Creative Cooking” with science teacher Alicia Payton is one of the popular electives at Hillview, where students cook quick-and-easy, 30-minute meals, share recipes and learn about a balanced diet. Students chose two electives from 20 offerings, which range from advanced art, photography, robotics, “School of Rock,” video production and woodshop.
“Hawk Talk.” Students produce the morning news, televised throughout the school each morning on the campus TV station, HTV. Returning students are honored as “HVTV-mentors” and help the “newbies” learn the ropes.
Camp Hillview. All incoming sixth-graders will participate in Camp Hillview, a three-day orientation program on campus August 30 through September 1. The program, designed and carried out by the Hillview staff, provides a common academic and social experience for sixth-graders.
Building character. Counselor Debbie Devoto will coordinate the pilot school-wide character education program, launched last fall. Students and teachers will look at such building blocks as integrity, responsibility, moral courage, empathy, compassion, humility and cooperation. Lessons will be broadcast over Hillview’s TV station. Teachers will do follow-up activities in the classroom. Last year 252 students participated in 1,129 hours of community service projects. Parent volunteers helped.
Back to school night. Hillview parents will meet teachers and learn about school programs and activities during this annual event, set for Thursday, August 31, at 7 p.m.
Community festival and potluck supper. This school-wide tradition for students and parents takes place at school on Friday, September 8, at 6 p.m.
Online. Hillview’s weekly calendar is now available by e-mail. To sign up, go to www.hillviewpto.org and click on weekly calendar.
MENLO PARK CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
181 Encinal Ave., Atherton, 94027
Superintendent: Ken Ranella
Call 321-7140
www.mpcsd.org
