What Menlo-Atherton High School does

Menlo-Atherton High School is a public, four-year comprehensive secondary school founded in 1951, located at 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton, California, and operated under the Sequoia Union High School District. The school serves approximately 2,150 students in grades 9-12 drawn from nine neighboring elementary and junior high school districts in southern San Mateo County, with the larger district-wide enrollment around 8,000 students across five high schools. As a public institution, M-A is funded primarily through state education allocation and local property tax revenues, supplemented by three voter-approved construction bonds (2001, 2004, 2007) and ongoing private fundraising through the Foundation for the Future, PTA, and Athletic Boosters. The school charges no tuition to district residents and derives only minor ancillary revenue from $100 annual parking permits and $126 per-exam AP testing fees.

The academic offering includes 23+ Advanced Placement courses, a Computer Academy (a "school within a school" established in 1981), Career Technical Education pathways across six California industry sectors, and a comprehensive Academic Resource department supporting over 300 students through RSP, STARS, ILS, and SAC specialized programs. M-A holds a National Blue Ribbon School designation, three California Distinguished School awards (1986, 2007, 2013), and consistent top-public-high-school recognition from Newsweek; the institution was granted a full six-year WASC accreditation in April 2025. The school's technology stack is consumer-standard edtech: Google Apps for Education, Infinite Campus (SIS), Canvas (LMS), Naviance (college/career planning), and Finalsite (CMS), supported by five computer labs, 82 SmartBoards, and over 1,200 devices including iPads, Chromebooks, and laptop carts.

Operationally, M-A runs on a modified block schedule (three 50-minute period days and two 85-minute block days) with a Wednesday Flextime period. Specialized facilities include a Digital Media Arts Facility opened in fall 2012 with Mac-based and PC-based production labs. The school is led by Principal Karl Losekoot alongside an instructional vice principal and four assistant vice principals split across grade-level cohorts, with broad student services (counseling, wellness, college and career center, athletics) delivered through a certificated staff of approximately 160, over 55% of whom hold master's or doctorate degrees. Go-to-market is community-led: enrollment flows through Sequoia Union High School District's open enrollment process, supplemented by 8th-grade information nights, student-led campus tours, one-on-one shadowing, and a BearNotes parent newsletter.

Name

Menlo-Atherton High School

Legal name

Menlo-Atherton High School

Website

https://mabears.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Menlo-Atherton High School is a public four-year secondary school serving approximately 2,150 students in grades 9-12 in Atherton, California, operated by the Sequoia Union High School District with 23+ AP courses and CTE programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Public secondary education
• College preparatory programs
• Advanced placement courses
• Special education services
• Career technical education

Headquarters

HQ city

Atherton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public School Funding: Funded through Sequoia Union High School District with state and local funding, including voter-approved construction bonds (2001, 2004, 2007)
2. Foundation, PTA, and Boosters Donations: Parent and community donations through three supporting organizations; Foundation goal of $2,500,000 for academic programs (90% salaries), $137,500 for materials/equipment, and $200,000 for athletics
3. Student Parking Permits: Parking permits cost $100 per academic year for students with valid license, registration and insurance
4. AP Exam Fees: $126 per AP exam, with $40 late registration fee and $40 cancellation fee; $5 service fee per transaction

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Menlo-Atherton High School is a four-year comprehensive public secondary school serving approximately 2,150 students in grades 9-12. The school delivers college-preparatory academics through 23+ Advanced Placement courses, specialized programs including the Computer Academy and Career Technical Education pathways, and comprehensive support services including special education, counseling, and college/career readiness resources.

Product overview

Menlo-Atherton High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school serving approximately 2,100 students in grades 9-12. The school's educational offerings include 23+ Advanced Placement courses, specialized programs such as the Computer Academy (a technology-focused 'school within a school' established in 1981), Career Technical Education pathways across six California industry sectors, and Academic Resource support services for students with special needs. The school operates on a modified block schedule with three 50-minute period days and two block days with 85-minute periods. Technology infrastructure includes five computer labs, 82 SmartBoards, over 1200 computers, iPads, Chromebooks, and a Digital Media Arts Facility opened in 2012.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Computer Academy A 'school within a school' program that provides technology-focused education integrated with college-prep Academy English, Science, and Social Studies courses. Students develop computer skills including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, Dreamweaver, PhotoShop, Flash, iMovie, and Final Cut Express.
• Advanced Placement (AP) Courses 23+ college-level courses preparing students for AP exams. Courses include Art History, Art Studio, English Composition/Literature, Calculus, Statistics, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics, World History, US History, Psychology, Chinese, French, Latin, Seminar, and Spanish Language.
• Career Technical Education (CTE) Programs representing California industry sectors including Arts/Media/Entertainment, Building Trades/Construction, Education/Child Development, Health/Science/Technology, Hospitality/Tourism, and Information Technology. One year of CTE is required for graduation.
• Academic Resource Department (Special Education) Special education program supporting over 300 students with specialized programs including Resource Specialist Program (RSP), STARS, Independent Living Skills (ILS), and Social Academic Class (SAC). Staff includes 17 teachers, 33 paraeducators, 2 school psychologists, and 2 speech therapists.
• Flextime A flexible period integrated into the Wednesday schedule (11:40 AM - 12:10 PM) providing students additional time for academic support, intervention, or enrichment activities.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sequoia Union High School DistrictcoreOthersMenlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District, which includes four comprehensive and one continuation high schools. The district provides funding, administrative oversight, and operational support.
• SamTranscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough SamTrans Youth Unlimited program, students qualified for Free or Reduced Lunch receive free bus passes from August 2025 to August 2026, supporting student transportation to school.
• Boys & Girls Club of East Palo AltominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides afternoon bus rides from M-A's T-Lot to the EPA Boys & Girls Club location on Pulgas Ave for registered students.
• Nearby UniversitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMenlo-Atherton hosts student teachers from various nearby universities as part of teacher preparation programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Henry M. Gunn High School: Public high school in Palo Alto (Palo Alto Unified) competing with Menlo-Atherton for Silicon Valley high-achieving students, with similar AP breadth, university proximity, and college-prep orientation.
• Homestead High School: Fremont Union district peer in Cupertino serving grades 9-12 with similar AP, CTE, and college-prep orientation; comparable scale (~2,300 students) and Bay Area tech-adjacent positioning.
• Woodside High School: Sister school within Sequoia Union High School District, serving grades 9-12 with comparable public college-prep programming. Most directly comparable peer given identical district governance, funding model, and feeder pipeline overlap.
• Carlmont High School: Sequoia Union district peer in Belmont, sharing identical district funding, open enrollment process, and college-prep curriculum structure. Directly comparable for benchmarking.
• Palo Alto High School: Neighboring Bay Area public high school (Palo Alto Unified School District) serving grades 9-12 with strong AP and college-prep offerings. Direct competitor for high-achieving students in the same San Francisco Peninsula corridor as Menlo-Atherton.
• Sequoia High School: Sequoia Union High School District flagship in Redwood City; same public high school governance, scheduling, and college-prep model as Menlo-Atherton, drawing from overlapping Redwood City / San Mateo County feeders.
• Los Altos High School: Mountain View-Los Altos Union district public high school serving Silicon Valley families with comparable AP offerings, college-prep focus, and high-achieving student population.
• Mountain View High School: Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District peer serving grades 9-12 in the same Silicon Valley corridor with comparable AP breadth and college-prep outcomes.
• Monta Vista High School: Fremont Union High School District public high school in Cupertino competing for top Bay Area students with comparable STEM and AP strength near major tech employers.
• Saratoga High School: Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union district public high school in the South Bay with a similar high-achieving college-prep profile, AP breadth, and competitive admissions standing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mabears
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/menlo-atherton-high-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Menlo-Atherton High School