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When Principal Alicia Payton-Miyazaki was a student at Oak Knoll Elementary School, she played at the foot of the nearly 300-year-old oak tree that once stood at the center of the campus.
Everything in the school was connected to the tree — from learning about the life cycle to performing the annual Spring Sing event under its leaves, she recalled.
This year, Oak Knoll celebrates its 75th anniversary as it embraces its new Valley Oak tree, planted in 2024, with hopes that it will grow as large as its centuries-old predecessor, which fell during a storm in 2023.
The school has brought many alumni back to join the Oak Knoll staff as teachers. Payton-Miyazaki said that, besides herself, four other former students currently work at Oak Knoll: Hope Scheid, Alli Zeiser, Tony Yob and Melanie Vea.
“For five of us to have grown up in this community and return to it in service to the community and to the children, I think is just astounding,” said Payton-Miyazaki.
In September, the school celebrated the anniversary at its annual fall family picnic. During lunchtime on Sept. 17, students sang “Happy Birthday” to the Oak Knoll mascot Ollie the Otter and ate cupcakes in celebration of the milestone.
For the 50th anniversary celebration in 2002, a time capsule was made and stored away for 25 years. Oak Knoll staff recently opened up the box to find old newspapers, a copy of the first “Magic Treehouse” book, an Otter Run T-shirt, a teddy bear from the 1990s, a student topography project, a postcard and more.
The school opened in 1951 as a K-8 campus with 260 students, according to previous reporting by The Almanac. Its first eighth-grade class graduated in 1958.
In 1989, Hillview Middle School opened and Oak Knoll became a kindergarten-through-fifth grade school. In 2023, the district added transitional kindergarten. Now, the campus has a total of 590 students enrolled, said Parke Treadway, Menlo Park City School District’s public information officer.
Oak Knoll Elementary School yearbooks from throughout the years, displayed at a table during the fall family picnic on Sept. 17. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi 
An Oak Knoll Elementary School yearbooks clipping from 1991 shows former students and current teachers Hope Scheid and Alison Zeiser when they were children. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi. 
Oak Knoll Elementary School celebrates its 75th anniversary during its fall family picnic on Sept. 17. Photo by Jennifer Yoshikoshi.
At the family picnic, the hallway leading to the playground was decorated with old photos of the school, a copy of The Almanac’s 50th anniversary article and yearbook photos featuring current teachers from the ‘90s and early 2000s.
On the grass, a rainbow arch welcomed families as a live performer sang covers of popular songs. Students were spotted running toward Ollie the Otter for hugs as they celebrated the anniversary with their friends and family.
Guests also gathered around a table covered with yearbooks — the oldest copy was from 1957.
Over its history, Oak Knoll has maintained many of its school traditions and hasn’t changed its campus mission for at least 25 years: “Every student an exemplary scholar, a valued friend and a courageous citizen.”
“I really love this school. I think it’s a combination of nostalgia … and just the sheer teacher commitment (and) the shared values with the community,” Payton-Miyazaki said. “The mission here is so strong, and it’s strong at all of our (district’s) schools but this one specifically resonates with me.”
Decades after attending Oak Knoll, Payton-Miyazaki continues to live by the school’s goal of being “a valued friend.” She said even in her adulthood, she still holds some of her elementary school friendships closely.
