Menlo School

Menlo School is an independent coeducational day school for grades 6 to 12 on Valparaiso Avenue in Atherton. It is not in Palo Alto, but it sits only a few minutes north of the city line and draws many students from Palo Alto, so local families tend to put it on the same list as the schools in town. The school reports 845 students: 619 in the upper school and 226 in the middle school.

This page covers Menlo's history, campus, programs, admission process and 2026 to 2027 tuition and aid as the school publishes them. Our private schools guide lists other options nearby, including Sacred Heart Schools next door. We do not rank schools or repeat commercial rankings.

From a military school to Menlo

Menlo's history page traces it to the William Warren School, a military school founded in 1915 with 13 boys. The cadets wore West Point gray and marched to class at a site at Alejandra Avenue and the County Road. In 1924 founder William Warren sold the school to a group of parents, who dropped the military program and incorporated the Menlo School for Boys.

In 1927 Menlo became a nonprofit governed by a board of trustees. A two-year junior college was added around 1930. In 1946 the trustees bought the 55-acre Douglass estate on Valparaiso Avenue, with Douglass Hall, built in 1913. In 1949 the institutions took the names Menlo School and Menlo College.

Big changes came in stages:

1. 1976 to 1977: the Knight replaced the Acorns as mascot.
2. 1979 to 1981: the upper school, until then a boys' boarding school, became a coeducational day school.
3. 1989: the Loma Prieta earthquake forced Douglass Hall to close.
4. 1993: the middle school became coeducational and added sixth grade, under new head of school Norm Colb.
5. June 30, 1994: Menlo School and Menlo College formally separated into two independent institutions. They still share a 62-acre campus, with each owning its own section.
6. 1998: Douglass Hall reopened after renovation as Stent Family Hall, now the main administrative building and library.
7. 2013: Than Healy became head of school.

Location and campus

The address is 50 Valparaiso Avenue, Atherton 94027. The campus is just west of El Camino Real, where Atherton meets Menlo Park, with Sacred Heart Schools along the same street. From downtown Palo Alto it is a short drive north on El Camino Real across San Francisquito Creek. Our guide to Woodside and Atherton covers the town and our Menlo Park guide covers the neighbors.

Most of today's buildings date from a long building program. The Arrillaga Family Campus for the middle school opened in 1999. The upper school's two classroom buildings and Martin Family Hall, a lecture and concert hall, followed in 2004 and 2005. A 54,000 square foot athletic center opened in 2010. The 40,000 square foot Creative Arts and Design Center and the Whitaker Lab for robotics, engineering and biotechnology opened in 2012. A dining commons and expanded student center came in 2017. The Spieker Center for the Performing Arts was finished in 2020, though pandemic rules delayed its opening to spring 2021.

The school today

Menlo divides into a middle school for grades 6 to 8 and an upper school for grades 9 to 12. The school's own figures:

• Student to teacher ratio of 9 to 1 in the middle school and 8 to 1 in the upper school.
• Average class size of 18.
• 75 percent of faculty with advanced degrees.
• Students from about 50 ZIP codes. The school says 60 percent identify as students of color.

The middle school has a set of Middle School Habits and the upper school an Honor Code. Academic support ranges from faculty help sessions to a math and science learning lab, a writing center, study skills coaching and Student Success Plans for students with diagnosed learning differences. College counseling begins in the spring of sophomore year, with each student assigned to one of four counselors. Teams compete as the Knights. Recent highlights on the school's site include a Central Coast Section open division title in flag football and a track and field invitational called the Menlo Games.

How admission works

Menlo's main entry points are sixth grade and ninth grade. Each year about 70 new students join in sixth grade and about 80 in ninth. A typical graduating class has about 155 students, roughly half from Menlo's own middle school. For fall 2027, the school's FAQ says transfer applications are accepted for grades 7, 8, 10 and 11 when space allows. Menlo does not take mid-year transfers.

The steps, through Ravenna:

1. Create a Ravenna account, select Menlo and complete the pre-application.
2. Attend events such as preview days. Registration is required and space is limited.
3. Visit during a school day. Ninth grade applicants interview during their visit. The interview is required.
4. Take Menlo's version of the STAR Assessment with a writing sample in fall 2026. Local applicants cannot substitute other test scores. Applicants from outside the nine Bay Area counties may submit SSAT or ISEE scores.
5. Complete the Kira family video questionnaire, with four short questions for parents and four for the student. Fill out the activity and interest form too.
6. Arrange recommendations and transcripts. Middle school applicants need a principal or counselor and current and previous year teachers. Upper school applicants need a counselor plus current English and math teachers.

Menlo says siblings are carefully considered but not guaranteed seats. International students may apply if they will live locally with a parent or guardian. The school has no boarding and cannot issue I-20 visas.

Tuition and aid for 2026 to 2027

Menlo's tuition and aid page lists full tuition and fees of $67,792 for 2026 to 2027. That price includes lunch, Menlo bus transportation, the Caltrain shuttle, most field trips and retreats and participation in athletics and the arts. Books and supplies run about $500 to $700 and a laptop about $1,300. Tuition for 2027 to 2028 had not been posted in late October 2026.

The aid program is need-based only. Menlo reports an $8.6 million budget for 2026 to 2027 and says it meets 100 percent of each admitted student's demonstrated need, with grants that cut tuition by 11 to 99 percent. About 22 percent of families receive aid, which also covers the same share of costs like books, laptops, trips and AP exams. Aid applications go through Clarity by January 5, 2027. The school says the admissions committee does not know who has applied for aid. Payment plans include one payment, two payments of 70 and 30 percent or ten monthly payments with interest.

Getting there and visiting

Menlo buses serve Peninsula communities north and south of campus. Shuttles meet trains at the Menlo Park Caltrain station. Many families carpool and some older students drive. From Palo Alto, students can also take Caltrain one stop north from Palo Alto station and catch the school shuttle.

Families coming from out of town for preview days or a student visit can stay in Palo Alto or Menlo Park, both within a few miles. You can compare hotels in Menlo Park and Palo Alto or read our guide to staying in Menlo Park or Mountain View.

Frequently asked questions