Educating and empowering students while embracing childhood and adolescence.

Dear MPCSD Community,

As we say around school when the children come back for fall, Happy New Year! I hope you are finding time to enjoy all the treats of the season here in our beautiful town. In your local TK-8th grade public school district, it is a busy time. This fall is the start of a financial exercise that I am referring to as Funding Our Priorities. The school board has directed me to facilitate a process that leads to budget adjustments for future years, with the goal of creating a balanced budget that reflects our vision and priorities. And we are looking to you - our community - to be part of the process.

I recently presented Budget 101 to support our district families and staff in better understanding our funding structure and budget; for those interested, I recommend reviewing the slides on our website. Now it is time to request feedback through our community financial survey. The survey is more than a random collection of questions; its methodology is based on established research principles and utilizes multiple approaches to data gathering in terms of financial prioritization. The primary goal of the survey is to move beyond a simple "wish list" and gather actionable data that reflects the real-world trade-offs inherent in any budget process. This process will involve balancing many important needs with limited resources, and we look forward to your engagement.

In addition to digging in on our financial future, the 2025-26 school year will be a time of deep engagement on our three strategic directions: grow student belonging, strengthen academic excellence, and create inspiring environments. Read more about this in our annual community report. I am grateful to each and every community member for your support and partnership as MPCSD fulfills its commitment to provide every student and family a rewarding educational experience at our schools.

Sincerely,

Kristen Gracia

E-bike Safety

MPCSD has seen a rise in the number of students riding e-bikes to school, particularly Hillview Middle School. Bike safety is part of our schools' curriculum in elementary and middle school, including free access for Hillview students and parents to the PedalAce safety course. However, as this recent Almanac article illustrates, e-bike safety is a growing concern among communities and schools throughout the region. Because student safety is a top priority at MPCSD, Superintendent Gracia brought the topic of e-bikes to last week's school board meeting. In attendance were also the School Resource Officers from Atherton and Menlo Park Police Departments, Officer Andruha and Officer Nissen, respectively. Together the cities noted 10 reported incidents of student e-bike accidents, and likely many more unreported ones as well. Both Superintendent Gracia and the SROs believe e-bikes pose a unique risk to middle school students because of the "developmental mismatch" between as the performance capability of the bikes and the developmental phase of adolescent brains.

The school board agreed that we may be now in a place where education is not enough. Board members voiced interest in potentially creating e-bike policy regarding riding and parking them on our campuses. At the October 23 school board meeting, policy options will be discussed. The district stresses that any policy changes will continue to encourage biking as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation to school, and that our community's drivers share the responsibility for making MPCSD streets safe for riders and pedestrians of all ages.

To attend the October 23 meeting at 6:00 p.m. (in person or via Zoom), find the agenda and Zoom link on our Diligent Community website beginning Monday, October 20, 2025.

Hillview's Relay for Life

Each year Hillview students and staff raise money for the American Cancer Society through a nighttime Relay for Life event. This year's event takes place October 24 with over 200 students making up 28 teams, plus a teacher team (one of last year's teams pictured here).

Hillview's goal is to raise $50,000! While the event is for students and parents only, community members can support the teams and make a difference for cancer research: Donate to Hillview’s Relay for Life in partnership with the American Cancer Society. 

Housing Development

As Superintendent Gracia noted in public comment at the September 30 Menlo Park City Council meeting, MPCSD supports housing development and stands ready to educate any new students who are able to attend our excellent schools as the result of future housing within our district boundaries. Our school enrollment has - like districts statewide - declined since 2017 because of Covid relocations, low local birthrates, and the area's high cost of living. Our professional demographer report anticipates that district enrollment will settle at around 2,500 students by 2027 (currently we have 2,621 students).

MPCSD's five school campuses are the only property owned by the district, meaning we have very limited physical space on which to add school capacity. Recent lower enrollment makes space less of a concern for the time being; however, future housing development as part of the Housing Element will be mainly located within the MPCSD and could have significant impact on our classrooms and capacity. To be able to absorb future students, MPCSD remains engaged with city leaders and housing developers to ensure that the schools' needs are considered.

This stock image is for decorative purposes only and does not represent any actual development being planned.

Every fall, MPCSD parent volunteers lead the district's annual fundraising campaign, the One Community Campaign (OCC). This is a unique partnership among every school's Parent Teacher Organization and the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation. We are pleased to report that nearly 65% of district families have contributed to this year's OCC, raising over $3.3M for school events plus district elective and specialist, mental health, and counseling programs.

Community members are invited to also support your local public schools as Friends of MPAEF. The MPAEF grant makes up five percent of MPCSD's revenues and is one of the reasons that nearly 90% of district revenue is locally generated. Thank you, community!

The MPAEF offers other fun ways to support our schools, too:

MPAEF Dine Out Week

Looking for an excuse to grab take-out this week? MPAEF can help, now through Friday, October 17. Six local partner restaurants will donate 10-25% of proceeds to support our schools when you order from them. It’s a win-win! Visit www.mpaef.org/dine-out for full details.

Important notes for Dine Out Week: 

• Diners must mention “MPAEF” to restaurant staff when placing orders.
• Please note the specific dates for each restaurant that is participating.
• Orders via DoorDash, UberEats, or GrubHub do not apply.



Menlo Park Wine Walk

The Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains, MPAEF, and the Menlo Park Design District are thrilled to bring back this fun and festive event on Saturday, November 15! Enjoy local wines and shop at local stores, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting Encinal, Laurel, Oak Knoll, and Hillview schools. Tickets on sale now!

Sports Basement Shopping Days

On December 1-7, head to Sports Basement for some early holiday shopping where Basementeers receive 20% off (and Non-Basementeers still receive 11% off). Discount details coming soon! Throughout the year, shoppers that become Basementeers receive 10% off and 10% of profits go to the charity you choose. Become a Basementeer today and select Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) as your charity of choice.