Menlo School

Menlo School is an independent day school in Atherton, California, serving roughly 800 students in grades six through twelve. The campus on Valparaiso Avenue sits in the heart of the San Francisco Peninsula, minutes from Stanford and the venture firms along Sand Hill Road. Families come from Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and across Silicon Valley.

Menlo has no religious affiliation. Its identity centers on academics, athletics, and the arts. The language program spans Mandarin, French, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish, which hints at the range expected across departments. Teaching faculty tend to hold advanced degrees, and classes assume students will read deeply, write often, and head to selective colleges.

Compensation reflects Bay Area realities. With about $68 million in annual revenue and $243 million in net assets, Menlo School pays at the top of the local independent school market. Benefits typically include health coverage, a retirement match, tuition remission for faculty children, and a funded professional development budget. Housing near Atherton is expensive, so many staff commute from across the Peninsula or the East Bay.

Faculty jobs at Menlo span middle and upper school roles in English, math, science, history, world languages, computer science, and the arts. The school also hires athletic coaches, college counselors, learning specialists, and staff in advancement, technology, and operations. Most teaching searches run from January through April for the next school year.

One useful angle for candidates: Menlo runs on small class sizes and long faculty tenure, so each hire shapes a department for years. Teachers who want an intellectually demanding, secular day school will find Menlo School worth a close look.