851 Valparaiso Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025

It's our 3rd year in Encinal and we couldn't be happier. Lots of attention to kids and great atmosphere in general.

From my experience at this school, my son thrived and developed exceptionally well thanks to the support of the teachers and staff at Hillview Middle School. They have shown fantastic leadership and are so willing to listen and help parents understand and guide their children best as possible. Definitely glad we moved and my son was able to attend this wonderful school.

M-A is an impressive place, especially given the extreme socioeconomic diversity and varying high school readiness of its student body. The curriculum provides for courses ranging from remedial to AP and beyond. There are extensive resources for academic help (ranging from office hours to after school help to peer tutoring), a huge number of clubs and extracurricular activities, highly competitive athletics, nationally-ranked debate, award-winning orchestra and jazz bands, the list goes on. Students are given opportunities to participate and excel regardless of family financial situation. And this is borne out in the college outcomes - the majority enter college, and many go to Ivies, Stanford, MIT and top UCs. Most importantly, I have found that the teachers work hard and really care about their students - not just their academic outcomes but their entire well-being. During the pandemic, many teachers went well above and beyond to ensure that their students' mental and physical health was secure. It is a hard thing to measure, but, as a parent, heartwarming to see in action.