Long Time MPCSD School Board members
Joan Lambert and Terry Thygesen to Retire

The Board of Education for the Menlo Park City School District will say farewell to two of its long time members when Joan Lambert and Terry Thygesen are honored at their last official School Board meeting. All are invited to join the School Board in recognizing and celebrating Ms. Lambert and Ms. Thygesen on November 13, at 6:00 p.m. in the TERC Board Room, 181 Encinal Avenue, Atherton.
Joan Lambert was first elected to the Board in 2010 and finishes her second term on December 7. She brought education leadership experience from Seattle when she moved with her family to the Menlo Park area, as well as her legal background which always made her an astute and thoughtful contributor to policy discussions. She served on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Policy and was a founding member of the Finance and Audit Committee. The district’s Spanish Immersion and world language programs owe their success to Ms. Lambert’s insightful leadership, as well, as she was instrumental in their design.
Terry Thygesen has the distinction of being one of the Board’s longest serving members, from 2000-2008, and again beginning in 2010. Her fourth term ends on December 7. A fierce advocate for public schools, Ms. Thygesen consistently led the Board to take on major initiatives to improve the quality of education in our district and encouraged the public to commit its strong financial support toward that goal. She championed the creation of the district's first long range facility master plan and helped create a framework for extended community governance which continues to guide the district’s decision making. Ms. Thygesen plans to remain an outspoken community supporter of the work MPCSD does on behalf of students everywhere.

Under the leadership of Ms. Lambert, Ms. Thygesen, or both, MPCSD has seen its enrollment increase over 50% and passed three parcel taxes to fund excellent teachers and robust programs and two bond measures to modernize and build new campuses, including the new Hillview Middle School and the Laurel School Upper Campus. Other milestones include the creation of MPCSD's Finance & Audit; Technology; and World Language Committees of the Board; development of Guiding Principles to articulate the Board's decision-making framework; and establishment of the Early Learning Center to offer high quality preschool to as many of our community's children as possible with special emphasis on providing access for low income students.

As a final part of their legacy, Ms. Lambert and Ms. Thygesen are helping the Board initiate a community wide conversation about the concept of fully funding our district, meaning outlining what it would look like and cost if MPCSD were to provide the complete program our community values. The trust the community places in its School Board is due to the qualifications, fidelity, transparency, and hard work of members like Ms. Lambert and Ms. Thygesen. MPCSD thanks them for their service over the years, and wishes them all the best as they continue to enrich the community in which they live.
Erik Burmeister, Superintendent | mpcsd.org
Governing Board
Terry Thygesen , President
David Ackerman , Vice President
Stacey Jones
Joan Lambert
Caroline Lucas