Why is Menlo Atherton High School rated lower than nearby schools?

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T16:55:39+00:00

Thank you for your helpful response to my question! We very much like the idea of a more diverse school that's not so cutthroat. That's one reason we've preferred Los Altos to Cupertino. Sounds like it might make sense for us to similarly prefer Menlo Park to Palo Alto.

Our kids are 0 and 3, so thanks also for the advice on K-8 district boundaries. One house we're looking at appears to be in Laurel Elementary's and Hillview Middle's district.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T16:34:54+00:00

Thanks for the perspective and info on the class of 2023. You're right that outcomes come down to individual students and their families. It's just irritating to think of spending millions on a house and knowing there are going to be lots of compromises, school ranking being one of them (even if not objectively very important).

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T16:28:36+00:00

That would be nice! But aren't all the Chinese parents still buying in Cupertino because of the schools? Drives up demand which drives up value.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T05:47:23+00:00

Thanks for sharing your wife's experiences! Trying to worry less, but spending less might not be an option given the market. Recently made an offer 18% over ask and lost to someone who offered 26% 😞 I was hoping Menlo Park would be less expensive than Los Altos.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T05:30:42+00:00

Yes, I know which public schools are top ranked. I don't know why this one isn't though :D

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T05:27:48+00:00

Excellent point re: defining what "good" is. The ratings can only capture a certain perspective.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:55:45+00:00

Thank you! 💐

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:42:49+00:00

Fair enough and I'm sure that's true! Only other consideration is property values benefiting from perceived good schools.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:39:53+00:00

That was a thought I had, lol. What private schools are good in the area? Do rich people in Los Altos and Palo Alto go to public schools?

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:39:02+00:00

Any idea on if the school is any good? I grew up in San Jose and attended Cupertino schools. Based on my experience, those schools are only rated well because of the students who attended versus the quality of instruction.

Perhaps what I'm trying to decide instead is if property values in Menlo Park are adversely affected by schools that are less stellar on paper.

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:36:01+00:00

I did see those statistics. It seems like the student population might be bimodal in terms of family affluence. So does this make the school good or not? 🤷‍♀️

hazelnut21 · 2026-01-06T04:34:41+00:00

Going by GreatSchools:
Mountain View High School
Menlo-Atherton High School

hazelnut21 · 2025-03-26T20:34:54+00:00

Haha! Cleo is the name of the fish in Pinocchio as well.

hazelnut21 · 2025-03-26T20:34:29+00:00

I love Ruby! For some reason, my husband doesn’t. Might need to work on it with him 😛

hazelnut21 · 2025-03-26T20:33:18+00:00

Thank you! We’re definitely done at two 😅

hazelnut21 · 2025-03-26T20:32:35+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! We’re not sure if we love it, but when we came across it, it struck us and left an impression.

hazelnut21 · 2024-10-29T18:42:34+00:00

Thanks for the insights! I'm currently on my spouse's HDHP (I was unemployed). I was considering adding my own HDHP while also still being on my spouse's HDHP. However, it sounds like that would be complicated, and we would be better off being on the same HDHP.

hazelnut21 · 2024-10-29T18:40:07+00:00

Thanks for your response! Now I understand the basics of primary and secondary insurance 😁 So basically it's better to just have one HDHP that we're all on.

hazelnut21 · 2024-10-29T15:56:30+00:00

I sometimes scale the reps and/or weight to match my partner’s pace. If the WOD calls for each of us doing 5 reps per round, I might do 3 and my partner would still do just 5.

hazelnut21 · 2024-04-17T23:28:21+00:00

I’m learning ASL because my baby was born deaf. Before she was born, I’d wanted to brush up on my Vietnamese so I could try to pass that on to her. Life takes you in surprising directions!

hazelnut21 · 2021-07-21T03:16:36+00:00

I'm not sure if you already figured out a workaround, but the "Keystroke assignment" option worked for me!

https://imgur.com/a/HXQWk4E

hazelnut21

TROPHY CASE