Photo: The Menlo School
In choosing whether to buy a home in Menlo Park or Palo Alto, schools are an important factor. Very few residents of Palo Alto send their children to private schools, because the public schools are so good. But you pay a premium for Palo Alto’s better schools; the median price in Palo Alto ($2,448,000) is almost $1.5M more than that of Menlo Park ($975,000).
Here is an overview of the private schools in Menlo Park and Atherton (on the Menlo border), information that could be useful in a Palo Alto vs. Menlo Park buying decision. (The Menlo School, Phillip Brooks, and Sacred Heart Schools are the most prestigious and competitive ones on the list.)
Beechwood School
Grades: K – 8
School Info: Enrollment restricted to students living within the boundaries of the Ravenswood City School District (East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park)
Tuition: $150/month per child
German-American International School
Grades: PK – 8
School Info: All classes held in German, English taught from 1st grade
Tuition: Grades K -5 $13,625; 6-8 $15,300
Mid Peninsula High School
Grades: 9-12
School Info: Small classes for the non-traditional students
Tuition: $23,550
Nativity School
Grades: K – 8
School Info: Catholic
Tuition: $4,900
Peninsula School
Grades: PK-8
Tuition: $12,510
Phillips Brooks School
Grades: PK – 5
Tuition: K-4 $18,000; Grades 1-5, $21,000.
St. Raymond’s School
Grades: K – 8
School Info: Catholic
Tuition: $6,650
Trinity School
Grades: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 5
Tuition: PK $13,620, $19,580 K-Grade 5.
Menlo School
50 Valparaiso Avenue, Atherton
Grades: 6-12
Tuition: $27,500
Sacred Heart Preparatory School
150 Valparaiso Avenue, Atherton
Grades: 9 – 12
School Info: Catholic
Tuition: $26,885
St. Joseph’s School of Sacred Heart
50 Emilie Avenue, Atherton
Grades: PK – 8
School Info: Catholic
Tuition: Grades 1-5 $19,940; 6-8 $24,985
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