Menlo-Atherton High School Explained

Menlo-Atherton High School
Motto:Strength in Diversity
Streetaddress:555 Middlefield Road
Zipcode:94027
Pushpin Map:San Francisco Bay Area#California#USA
Grades:9–12
Enrollment:2,125 (2022–23)[1]
Faculty:112.91 (FTE)
Ratio:18.82
Nickname:Bears
Publication:M-A Chronicle, The Mark
Principal:Karl Losekoot
Student Union Label:Leadership
Colors: Maroon
Gold
Established:1951
Feeder Schools:Hillview Middle School, La Entrada Middle School, Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School
Website:www.mabears.org

Menlo-Atherton High School (known as M-A to locals[2]) is a four-year public high school secondary school located in Atherton, California. Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District.[3]

Menlo-Atherton has been named one of the top secondary schools in the nation by the United States Department of Education as part of its National School Recognition Program. It was selected as a California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education in 2007 and 2013.[4] [5] In 2005, Newsweek ranked the school as the 259th best school in the United States.[6] Menlo-Atherton also offers the most Advanced Placement courses in the district with 24, ranging from Studio Art to US History.[7]

Since the closure of Ravenswood High School, Menlo-Atherton has been racially diverse, drawing from Atherton, Menlo Park, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, and Portola Valley. The school's motto is "Strength in Diversity".[8]

Academics

Typically, 97% of graduates continue their education. 37% opt for two-year colleges, 60% go to four-year colleges.

M-A offers the following Advanced Placement courses: Art History; Biology; Calculus AB/BC; Chinese Language; Chemistry; Computer Science A; Computer Science Principles; English Language/Composition; English Literature; Environmental Science; French Language; Latin; Physics; Psychology; Spanish Language; Spanish Literature (approximately every other year); Statistics; Studio Art; and US History. M-A has an 77% pass rate on AP exams,[9] with 41% scoring a 5.[10] It also has the Advanced Via Individual Determination program and the Computer Academy, programs for students seeking a smaller, supportive learning environment.

GPA Distribution for the Class of 2023!GPA Range!Number of Students!Percent
4.2 and above 7615%
3.8-4.19 10622%
3.4-3.798016%
3.0-3.396012%
2.6-2.994810%
2.2-2.596313%
2.0-2.19173%
Below 2.0 429%

Athletics

Menlo-Atherton has nearly 60 teams at the varsity, junior varsity and freshman levels in 15 sports that they offer. Over 46% of the student body participates in a sport with 1,100 athletes in the 2018–19 season. M-A has emerged as one of the most accomplished athletic programs in Northern California, winning 2 CIF State titles (Football & Girls Wrestling-individual title), 8 Central Coast Section titles, and 13 Peninsula Athletic League titles in the 2018–19 school year. The Bears have also won the PAL Commissioner's Cup the last 11 years in a row and in 12 of the 13 years of its existence. The Commissioner's Cup is awarded annually to the Peninsula Athletic League school that best exemplifies the league's commitment to sportsmanship and excellence in athletics. Points are awarded to each varsity team in each sport that they participate in, by the order of finish in league play and for sportsmanship.

In 2017, Co-Athletic Directors Paul Snow and Steven Kryger were named NorCal Athletic Directors of the Year by the California Coaches Association. That same year saw Adhir Ravipati named the NorCal Football Coach of the Year, and in 2018, Jane Worden and Brett Koerten were named State Swim Coaches of the Year, also by the California Coaches Association. In 2017, Menlo-Atherton was named the Northern California Public High School of the Year by Prep2Prep.com for their athletic achievements.

In the 2024 NFL Draft, Menlo-Atherton 2021 alum Troy Franklin was selected as a fourth-round pick and 102nd overall for the Denver Broncos. [11]

Fine arts

Menlo-Atherton is home to a professional-level 492-seat theater, the Menlo-Atherton Center for Performing Arts. It is home to the school play and musical; band, orchestra, guitar, and choir concerts; the Menlo-Atherton Student Film Festival;[12] the Bear Arts Expo, a collaboration between all of M-A's arts classes;[13] and many other school events. It also hosts events related to the City of Menlo Park, which partially financed its construction, and is a regular venue of ensembles and music festivals including the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Music@Menlo.[14]

The Advanced Jazz Ensemble regularly travels to festivals around the world, including the annual Reno Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. The band is supported by the Band Boosters.[15]

The center is home to M-A Drama, Menlo-Atherton's chapter of the International Thespian Society. M-A Drama produces a play and a musical each year. M-A Drama is supported by M-A Drama Boosters.[16]

Controversy

In November 2022, two separate students brought guns to school. The first incident was on November 10, when M-A staff called Atherton Police after receiving an anonymous tip that identified a student as possessing a gun. School staff conducted an administrative search of the student and located a Sig Sauer P226 9mm pistol with one round chambered and nine rounds in the magazine in the student's waistband. M-A staff decided not to inform students or parents until after the school day.[17] On November 29, Atherton Police arrested a student for bringing a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .380 pistol to school after staff reported there was a firearm in an unattended backpack. After this incident, Principal Karl Losekoot alerted parents the next day but not students until two days after.[18]

In November of 2023, Chloe Gentile-Montgomery and another teacher taught a lesson on dominate and counter-narratives that included discussion of the Israel-Palestine conflict. One slide included a video from Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, which is a Turkish propaganda group and another slide claimed the United Nations says that Israel is illegal.[19] The slide presentation prompted backlash from community members, leading to a Sequoia Union High School District Board of Trustee meeting to divulge into a verbal altercation and the police being called. [20] After the slide presentation became public and the Board Meeting, the Deborah Project and Zachor Legal Institute[21] sent California Public Records Act requests for all lesson materials from all classes about Israel, Palestine, or Zionism, along with all Ethnic Studies materials and electronic communications about Ethnic Studies. [22]

Alumni

Faculty

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Menlo-Atherton High. National Center for Education Statistics. April 28, 2024.
  2. http://www.sequoiadistrict.org/domain/187 About M-A
  3. http://www.sequoiadistrict.org/cms/lib04/CA01001238/Centricity/Domain/187/MA%20Profile%2012-13.pdf School Profile
  4. Web site: California Distinguished Schools Awardees 2007 - California Distinguished Schools Program (CA Dept of Education). www.cde.ca.gov. en. 2018-06-07.
  5. Web site: California Distinguished Schools Awardees 2013 - California Distinguished Schools Program (CA Dept of Education). www.cde.ca.gov. en. 2018-06-07.
  6. Web site: MSN. https://web.archive.org/web/20050511095056/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7723397/site/newsweek/?page=3. dead. 2005-05-11. MSNBC. en-US. 2018-06-07.
  7. Web site: Menlo-Atherton High School - AP Courses. 2021-03-11. www.mabears.org.
  8. News: Reid column: M-A's success comes on and off the field. 2012-09-12. The Mercury News. 2018-06-07. en-US.
  9. Web site: DISTRICT OVERVIEW . 2024-01-06 . dashboard.schoolytics.com.
  10. https://www.mabears.org/documents/M-A-School-Profile-23-24.pdf
  11. Web site: Nori . Celine Chien, Ameya . 2024-04-27 . Breaking News: Denver Broncos Draft M-A Alum Troy Franklin ‘21 . 2024-04-27 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  12. http://www.mabearnews.com/entertainment/2011/05/05/death-theft-violence-and-catnip-the-m-asff-in-review/ Death, Theft, Violence, and Catnip: The M-ASFF In Review
  13. Web site: Photos from M-A's Art Expo . 2012-05-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120418040748/http://www.mabearnews.com/photos/2012/04/12/photos-from-m-as-art-expo/ . 2012-04-18 . dead .
  14. News: Venues - Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale. 2018-06-07. en-US.
  15. http://www.mabandboosters.org/mabandboosters/Welcome.html M-A Band Boosters
  16. Web site: Boosters.
  17. Web site: Lam . Megan . 2022-11-15 . Student Arrested for Carrying Gun on Campus . 2023-04-24 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  18. Web site: Freedman . Sonia . 2022-12-03 . Second Student Arrested for Carrying Gun on Campus . 2023-04-24 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  19. Web site: Rehkopf . Tessa Ellingson, Sonia Freedman, Natalie Fishman, Sarah Weintraut, Cleo . 2023-12-19 . Ethnic Studies Controversy Over Israel-Palestine Lesson . 2024-02-22 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  20. Web site: Nori . Arden Margulis, Ameya . 2024-01-19 . Board Meeting Erupts Into Arguments Over Ethnic Studies Lesson . 2024-02-22 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  21. Web site: Margulis . Arden . 2024-02-28 . Behind the Two Legal Organizations Investigating Antisemitism at SUHSD . 2024-02-29 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  22. Web site: Siegel . Arden Margulis, Ben . 2024-02-01 . Breaking News: Teachers Required to Release Text Messages and More Amidst Ethnic Studies Controversy . 2024-02-22 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  23. Web site: Chane . Rose . 2024-04-22 . Actor Marcus Chait ‘91 Talks Business and Broadway . 2024-04-27 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  24. Web site: Menlo Atherton High School History Page 6 . Menlo Atherton High School Alumni Association . 2009-12-17.
  25. News: Hunt. Mary Ellen. Cheryl Burke: 'Dancing With the Stars' tour. SFGate.com. 2010-12-26. 2008-12-14.
  26. Web site: TEAM:Roster Greg Camarillo Profile - MiamiDolphins.com . 2008-04-26 . First-team All-Peninsula Athletic League and All-San Mateo County as senior at Menlo-Atherton High School in Menlo Park, Calif . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080430103400/http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/team/roster/playerBio.asp?docid=28584 . 2008-04-30 .
  27. Web site: Nori . Celine Chien, Ameya . 2024-04-27 . Breaking News: Denver Broncos Draft M-A Alum Troy Franklin ‘21 . 2024-04-27 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  28. Web site: Pecore . Caroline . 2023-04-04 . “I Win Less, But I Live More”: Iszac Henig ‘18 Embraces Authenticity as a Transgender Athlete . 2024-04-27 . M-A Chronicle . en-US.
  29. Web site: Born to Perform. Gabby. Occhipinti. Punch. February 18, 2023.
  30. Web site: Updated: Menlo Park native wins Grammy as fusion band guitarist.
  31. Web site: Jordan Mims (RB): Bio, News, Stats & more . 2023-08-22 . www.buffalobills.com . en-US.
  32. Web site: Jordan Mims - Buffalo Bills running back . 2023-08-22 . ESPN . en.
  33. Web site: Three women with Woodside Vaulters head to world vaulting championships . Wick . Carrie . July 2, 2008 . The Almanac . 2008-12-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110527200943/http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6486 . May 27, 2011.
  34. News: Eagles announced for Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland. Wise. Chad. 17 July 2017. USA Rugby. 2017-09-20.
  35. Web site: Women Eagles Name World Cup Squad. 17 July 2017. www.thisisamericanrugby.com. 2017-09-20.
  36. Web site: New caps in Women's Eagles World Cup squad. 20 July 2017. Americas Rugby News.com. en-US. 2017-09-20.
  37. News: Wood. Barbara. How a curious kid from Atherton started and grew a global environmental news site. Almanac News. 8 November 2017.
  38. News: Teammate Collects Dollar Bills for Bradley . Elisabeth . Bumiller . Elisabeth Bumiller . August 13, 1999 . . 2010-06-30 .

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