Menlo Park City SD + Sequoia Union HSDThe Wooded West
Tree-lined K-8 (MPCSD) feeding M-A High; Oak Knoll and Encinal are perennial picks, with a deep private-school bench nearby.
№ 01Overview
Why Menlo Park.
Inventory is consistently tight in Menlo Park, and home values vary materially across attendance areas inside the same district. Confirming the feeder pattern at the address level — before writing an offer — is the single most consequential step.
Menlo Park City School District (MPCSD) handles K-8 across central and west Menlo Park. Students continue into Sequoia Union High School District, attending Menlo-Atherton High School (M-A) — the high school that also serves Atherton, parts of East Palo Alto, and unincorporated areas.
Oak Knoll and Encinal are the two flagship MPCSD elementaries; both anchor the wooded, walkable neighborhoods that define Menlo Park's residential character. The district as a whole posts strong test scores and has unusually deep parent-funded enrichment programs.
M-A serves a much more economically and demographically diverse student body than the elementary feeder suggests, drawing from a larger Sequoia Union geography. The result is one of the strongest comprehensive public high schools on the Peninsula, with both high-end academics and broad athletics and arts programs.
№ 02Feeder Pattern
Paths to High School.
The elementary → middle → high school chain is determined by home address. Verify the assigned feeder for any specific property before writing an offer.
Menlo-Atherton High School (M-A)
- Elementary
- Hillview Middle School
- Menlo-Atherton High School (M-A)
Feeder elementaries: Oak Knoll, Encinal, Laurel
Not sure which feeder a specific address belongs to? Marie Wang and Kevin Mo can verify the assigned schools for any property in the district.
№ 03High Schools
Two top public high schools.
Each high school is its own version of the same age range. Read past the rating: AP load, STEM and arts depth, college-pipeline pattern, and culture all vary.
№ 04Middle Schools
Core middle schools.
Middle school sets the foundation for high school placement. Pace and academic culture differ from one school to the next.
№ 05Elementary
3 elementary schools.
Elementary is the start of the feeder chain; the choice of school here implicitly chooses middle and high too. Surrounding home prices and feeder destinations differ school by school.
№ 06Housing & Schools
Different neighborhoods,
different schools, different prices.
Prices vary materially by neighborhood, and each neighborhood maps to a specific school assignment. Below are the working ranges and feeder destinations.
West Menlo Park
$3.5M – $7M
Oak Knoll → Hillview → M-A attendance area.
Central Menlo Park / Downtown
$2.8M – $5M
Encinal → Hillview → M-A attendance area.
Allied Arts / Stanford Park
$3.0M – $4.5M
Laurel → Hillview → M-A attendance area.
Sharon Heights
$4M – $8M+
Oak Knoll → Hillview → M-A attendance area.
Belle Haven (101 以东)
$1.2M – $2M
Ravenswood 学区 (非 MPCSD) attendance area.
Suburban Park / Lorelei Manor
$2.0M – $3.0M
MPCSD (需确认具体小学) attendance area.
Compiled by Marie Wang and Kevin Mo, MK Group. Reach out for current listings and the latest comparable sales.
№ 07Private Schools
Private alternatives.
The Menlo Park catchment includes several leading independent schools. Many families combine public K-8 with private high school; some run private throughout.
№ 08Questions
Frequently asked.
The most common questions families bring us about Menlo Park, answered with data and examples.
Why is M-A High School considered strong despite a more diverse intake?
Sequoia Union has invested heavily in M-A, and the parent communities of Menlo Park and Atherton add significant program funding. The result is a comprehensive public high school with a wider academic and extracurricular range than narrowly affluent districts — the top-tier track at M-A is comparable to PAUSD's, and the school sends students to the same set of selective universities.
Oak Knoll or Encinal — does it matter?
Both are high-performing MPCSD elementaries with similar academic profiles. Oak Knoll sits in the Felton Gables / west Menlo neighborhood; Encinal is closer to downtown Menlo Park. The choice usually comes down to which neighborhood fits the family's housing budget and lifestyle, not academic outcomes.
How heavy is the private-school presence?
Substantial. Menlo School and Sacred Heart Schools (in adjacent Atherton) are nationally recognized independent schools; many Menlo Park families combine MPCSD K-8 with a private high school. Tuition typically runs $58–70K per year. The private/public choice in this district is more openly debated than in PAUSD.
Lock the school,
then the home.
MK Group works Menlo Park City SD + Sequoia Union HSD day to day — every school, every neighborhood, every recent sale. Marie and Kevin handle the address-level feeder verification, offer strategy, and escrow personally.
