School District Receives A Very Special Gift

The Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation had some good news for the Menlo Park City School District Tuesday evening.

Representatives of MPAEF presented the district with a grant of $2.6 Million at its board of education meeting.

Co-Presidents Scott Lohmann and Alison Leupold made the presentation to Superintendent Ken Ranella.

The money will be used to fund 18 teachers, including all art and music enrichment teachers; librarians at each of the four district schools - Laurel, Encinal, Oak Knoll and Hillview; and provide hands-on science aides at the three elementary schools.  The MPAEF grant also funds professional development for all district teachers, and the Jeanie Ritchie Innovation Grant program, which provides grants to teachers to support innovation in the classroom.

The grant, increased from last year’s $2.3 Million, represents 8.8 percent of the district's funding. For comparison, MPAEF points out that the state funds approximately 3 percent of the budget.

The non-profit Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation bridges the gap between available public funding and what they consider necessary to provide for quality education.