Seven Bay Area county health officers, in collaboration with their six county superintendents of schools have made a unified, regional decision to extend school closures and student dismissals from regular school attendance through May 1, 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible. The safety and wellness of students, school personnel, and the community are the highest priorities of all schools and districts in these six counties.

Building on the regional coordination the Bay Area jurisdictions took on March 16, 2020 in issuing Health Officer orders requiring all residents to shelter in place, the following Bay Area county agencies have been working together over the last several weeks to align strategies and practices during this unprecedented time for public education:

-Alameda County Office of Education
-Contra Costa County Office of Education
-Marin County Office of Education
-San Francisco Unified School District
-San Mateo County Office of Education
-Santa Clara County Office of Education
-City Health Officer, Berkeley, within Alameda County

With the support and collaboration of the Public Health Officers in the respective counties, the County Superintendents of Schools recognized the need to extend the period of school closures and student dismissals through May 1, 2020. School facilities may remain open to staff for the purposes of performing tasks deemed essential by the school district and county offices of education. Education will continue through flexible learning, meals will continue to be provided and, where possible, childcare may be arranged.

During this time, residents are expected to adhere to the “Shelter in Place” Orders issued by the Public Health Officers on March 16 and stay home except for essential activities until further notification from their local health department.

The regional connections across our most populous counties in the Bay Area require a coordinated approach. County Offices of Education will continue to work in close partnership with local health departments and local school districts to support the children, parents, and essential workforce of the Bay Area.

“Working together to address a virus that respects no boundaries is the right approach,” explained San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Magee. “San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow and I commend our colleagues across the Bay Area for their commitment not only to public safety but to continuing learning opportunities for students during this challenging time. We also commend our community for taking all possible steps to slow the virus’ spread.”

InMenlo file photo of Menlo Park City School District headquarters (c) 2016

For as long as he can remember, Menlo-Atherton high school junior Ricky Martin (far right in top photo,  pictured with brother Finn and housemate Charlie) has felt called to serve the Bay Area’s large homeless population. As a youngster, his family would travel to San Francisco Zen Center on Sunday mornings to assemble brown bag lunches and then distribute them in the Tenderloin, bringing back enough to ensure the homeless  at Menlo Park City Hall, the Menlo Park train station, Opportunity Services Center, and Palo Alto transit center could get one too.

Back then, he wasn’t always confident being the one directly interfacing with the people he wanted to serve. Twelve years later, that changed. Before the shelter-in-place mandate was issued, Ricky got up early every Wednesday before school to provide tech support to the clients at Opportunity Services Center in Palo Alto, realizing the ability to navigate a smart phone, email, and computers is critical to accessing resources — housing, health care, and jobs. Ricky, who has an interest in technology, shares his love of technology with the OSC clients, whether it’s accessing their email or lending an ear.

When the COVID-19 lockdown began, Ricky was unable to provide his weekly tech support, but he reached out to OSC to find another way to help and found out that they were in need of bagged lunches, masks, and other supplies. Usually local restaurants and grocery stores donate food but that has been curtailed by COVID-19.

He immediately sprang into action, recalling his days as a youngster making rows and rows of sandwiches. He put out the word in the community via Nextdoor, wrote a blurb for his school newsletter, and contacted friends and family.

The response has been heartwarming, and he spends time every day between school zoom calls coordinating contributions and drop-offs from community members. In the first week, he provided 60 bagged lunches (including homemade cookies from a local family — pictured are Rowan and Teagan), 12 sturdy masks (hand sewn by M-A senior and Stanford-bound student, Bridget Patrick), dozens of bottles of shampoo and conditioner (donated by a family on Nextdoor), 80 bottles of water, and 158 pods of laundry detergent. He is expecting to ramp up to  100 masks given that he has found additional people willing to pitch in!

And a local business, Kasumisou Gallery saw his post on Nextdoor and is offering to contribute 90% of proceeds on Menlo-Atherton teak frames purchased through May 31st. Ricky plans to use any proceeds to support the making of more masks, particularly from local out-of-work community members, and purchase food and supplies. Note: The Gallery is also donating 40% of proceeds of sterling silver M-A spirit bracelets.

Ricky is scheduled to continue weekly drop-offs at OSC at least through May.

We featured Audrey Ha during the last school year (2018-2019), when she conducted a behavioral science research project on fostering racial tolerance in U.S. high schools and won first place at the California Science and Engineering Fair. This school year (2019-2020) she conducted Phase 2, which was an international study examining how racial biases change after participants view race-related statistical data.

Audrey presented her research at the Golden Gate STEM Fair in March and earned first place in the high school behavioral science section and the USAID Science Champion Award.

“I created an online survey, and 1,313 people of all ages from six continents and 70 countries participated,” she emails. “I emailed over 600 international school principals and university sociology faculty to gain survey participants worldwide, and created social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter to share the survey link.

“After running analysis on the survey data, the results showed that worldwide, 10-15 year-olds were most open to race-related statistical data that contradicted their previous biases. The ideal age-range for tolerance education was 14-15 year-olds in more racially diverse regions, and 10-13 in less diverse regions. Overall prejudice decreased in all continents after the participants viewed statistical information, including participants in regions with less racial diversity.”

Using the insights gained from the study, Audrey, who attends Menlo-Atherton High School, developed a mobile application World Culture Deck and published it on the App Store to help students learn more about various cultures worldwide. The app contains lessons and content on traditional clothing, art, music, and fun facts about countries and groups around the world.

Photo courtesy of Audrey Ha

Menlo-Atherton High School principal Simone Rick-Kennel, was recently named  the 2020 Principal of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators [ACSA] – Region 5.

ACSA Region 5 is comprised of 25 school districts and considered one of the most competitive regions in California due to its highly ranked schools and distinguished leaders. Simone was recognized for her incredible leadership and commitment to Menlo-Atherton High School.

“During her tenure at Menlo-Atherton, Simone has always worked diligently to establish a clear vision, cultivate strong relationships, ensure inclusivity as part of M-A’s core values, and support the development of both students and staff,” wrote Superintendent Mary E. Streshly.

“All of us that work closely with Simone know how much she loves her school community and how fortunate we are to have her leadership within our district.”

Photo by Katrina Wijaya from M-A Bear News (c) 2015; used with permission

The music was blasting and balloons were flying when parents from Menlo-Atherton High School arrived at the reimagined Drive-Thru Tamale Party supporting the M-A Foundation for the Future. When the originally scheduled tamale-making workshop and party could no longer be held in a private home, the host committee got creative and offered an alternative solution.

Earlier this month, 40 dozen tamales and all of the fixings were ready and waiting for party guests to pick up, take home, and enjoy as a tasty meal with their families.The tamales were made by Menlo-Atherton parent Eli Nuñez, and the salsa was homemade by M-A’s Parent Outreach Coordinator, Lilly Quinonez. Both received rave reviews!

“I just wanted to tell you what a bright light your tamale drive through was on such a dreary day,” said Stacy Goldman. “I just expected to drive up and grab some food. The decor was adorable and a total pick me up!”

Added Suzanne O’Brien, co-President of the Foundation: “The event was a great reminder that we can come together safely to support a wonderful cause like the M-A Foundation for the Future. “The generous support of donors such as this advances the Foundation’s goal of providing a better educational experience for every M–A student by funding smaller class sizes, an expanded course offering, professional development for our teachers, college and career prep, and essential programs and services.”

“It was so festive to pull up and hear the music, see the balloons, signs and tents, be handed a beautiful bag with free beer (!) and then go home to enjoy really delicious tamales,” said Cristy Barnes. “Thanks so much for your efforts to support the Foundation.”

What is a math teacher’s favorite number? For Gregg Whitnah, it very well may be 26.2, the number of miles in a marathon. Whitnah has been teaching math for 48 years, and has been a familiar face at Menlo-Atherton High School for 25. Outside of the classroom, Whitnah spends his time running countless marathons alongside his wife Margie. His passion for running extends into his wardrobe, as he is often seen sporting a wide selection of running shirts — memorabilia from the multitude of marathons under his belt.

Whitnah took to running late, but since turning 51, he has completed a remarkable 50 marathons as well as 11 ultra-marathons, varying in length from 50 km to 100 km. “When I was 51 years old, my wife ran the Big Sur marathon and I did the 21-mile power walk,” he said. “Power walking was no fun and I decided to become a marathon runner. I started running and a year later, my first official race was the Big Sur Marathon. Since then I have run the Big Sur Marathon 12 times and my wife, Margie, has run it 15 times.”

He and his wife train for marathons together, yet during the actual events, Whitnah’s faster pace means they “are never actually running together.” Margie Whitnah has an impressive resume of running as well, having completed 59 marathons.

When asked about his favorite marathon, Whitnah replied, “The Skyline-to-the-Sea is my favorite trail marathon [route map right]. It starts at Saratoga Gap, goes up wooded trails, then winds through Big Basin’s redwoods, by a waterfall, along creeks, ups and downs, finishing near Waddell Beach. Climbs a total 2,420-foot gain and descends 5000 feet. In essence, you run across the Santa Cruz Mountains.” Whitnah prefers trails over pavements, as they are “better for your knees, feet and back, and you won’t get hit by a car.”

He described the Jack and Jill marathon in Washington state as “especially unusual,” because the race began by “running through a pitch-black, 2-mile-long old railroad tunnel [the Snoqualmie tunnel].”

Through completing so many marathons, Whitnah has experienced some obstacles. “The biggest obstacle is heat,” he said. “Ideal marathon weather can be up to the mid-sixties. I have stupidly started races in the 80s and even once in the 90s. The heat eventually led to some DNF’s (Did Not Finish). The race I am actually proudest of was a DNF. I ran 41 miles of the American River 50 Mile when I was 64 years old.”

Whitnah’s passion for running has grown as he has gained more experience, and he has learned to love the sport in spite of the challenges it poses. “Being out in nature, running through forests is a wonderful feeling,” he said. “Running up hills is challenging and running down hills is exhilarating. I actually love every aspect of trail running. One of the best parts is the sense of timelessness when I am out on a trail. And, in actual races, I enjoy competing against myself and others as well.”

Whitnah and his wife continue to run together, but have decided to switch to half-marathons, which “make it possible to run faster” since they don’t have to save their energy like they do for the second thirteen miles of a marathon. In addition, he said, “some [of the half-marathons] are at locations that we have never run before.”

From the M-A Chronicle; used with permission. Mitra Pezeshki contributed to this article.

The post M-A math teacher Gregg Whitnah keeps on running appeared first on InMenlo.

Menlo-Atherton High School student Audrey Ha capped off her Freshman year by taking first place in the California Science and Engineering Fair in the behavioral science category among a field of 800 middle and high school students. This followed wins at the county and regional level.

Audrey’s topic was titled “Fostering Racial Tolerance in High Schools: Researching Correlations between Tolerance, Activities, and Demographics.” You can view the abstract online.

“I consider myself a STEM person,” she commented. “I like having questions or puzzles. Math has one answer; English has many answers!”

Entering M-A last fall, Audrey immediately noticed how racially diverse the school is. “It opened my eyes to the need for more racial tolerance,” she said.

Among her conclusions: “The findings suggested modifications to interracial interaction, language programs, and social studies programs could lead to more student tolerance. The results suggested male students were more tolerant due to faculty focus on males and that older students took more initiative to engage with other races.

“Providing female, younger, and Asian/European-American high schoolers with opportunities for tolerance activities could be beneficial. The trends studied in this project, including successful racial tolerance activities and groups that benefit, may serve as a model for high schools to effectively foster tolerance and shape a more inclusive generation.”

This summer she’ll be taking her project on the road, attending the Genius Olympiad at the State University of New York’s Oswego campus.

In the future she hopes to build an app that will assist high school teachers in fostering more racial tolerance. As far as STEM in general, she wants to continue to build apps and products that people can use.

“I’m very interested in technology, education and community building,” she said in summation.

Photo courtesy Audrey Ha

The post M-A student Audrey Ha wins first place in California Science and Engineering Fair appeared first on InMenlo.

Students were back on the Menlo Atherton High School campus yesterday for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. InMenlo contributing photographer – and M-A senior – Lena Kalotihos captured the enthusiasm of one identified goofy guy along with a quartet of gals: Kylie Wong left, Emily Zurcher on the bottom, Toni Shindler-Ruberg right, and Alise Johnson on top.

Principal Simone Rick-Kennel reports that enrollment is estimated to be just over 2,400 students.

Photos by Lena Kalotihos (c)2019

The post Spotted: M-A students back on campus appeared first on InMenlo.

Emails Lesley Heller, wife of Kevin Heller, an M-A parent who was recently diagnosed with ALS:

“The Menlo [School] boys water polo team did the ALS ice bucket challenge on Saturday morning. It was a terrific event. Jack Bowen, the Menlo head coach, is a class act!

The M-A boys team came to support the Menlo boys. In fact, the Menlo boys let the M-A guys dump the buckets over their heads! It was a great community building event.”

A fun video of the event is available online.

Photos courtesy of Heller family: top show parents Kevin and Lesley with son, Michael, who plays water polo for M-A; photo at right is Menlo coach Jack Bowen.

The post Menlo School Water Polo does #ALSIceBucketChallenge in support of M-A parent appeared first on InMenlo.

InMenlo contributing photographer Lena Kalotihos — an M-A senior — captured some of the fun costumes students wore yesterday on Halloween.

Pictured top is Kate Dobson, Sam Radar, and Jenny Bridges (left to right, all juniors).

The great looking witch (left) is Spanish teacher Nicole Barlow (known as Profesora Barlow) spanish teacher.

Photos by Lena Kalotihos (c) 2019

The post M-A students don costumes for Halloween appeared first on InMenlo.

The music was blasting and balloons were flying when parents from Menlo-Atherton High School arrived at the reimagined Drive-Thru Tamale Party supporting the M-A Foundation for the Future. When the originally scheduled tamale-making workshop and party could no longer be held in a private home, the host committee got creative and offered an alternative solution.

Earlier this month, 40 dozen tamales and all of the fixings were ready and waiting for party guests to pick up, take home, and enjoy as a tasty meal with their families.The tamales were made by Menlo-Atherton parent Eli Nuñez, and the salsa was homemade by M-A’s Parent Outreach Coordinator, Lilly Quinonez. Both received rave reviews!

“I just wanted to tell you what a bright light your tamale drive through was on such a dreary day,” said Stacy Goldman. “I just expected to drive up and grab some food. The decor was adorable and a total pick me up!”

Added Suzanne O’Brien, co-President of the Foundation: “The event was a great reminder that we can come together safely to support a wonderful cause like the M-A Foundation for the Future. “The generous support of donors such as this advances the Foundation’s goal of providing a better educational experience for every M–A student by funding smaller class sizes, an expanded course offering, professional development for our teachers, college and career prep, and essential programs and services.”

“It was so festive to pull up and hear the music, see the balloons, signs and tents, be handed a beautiful bag with free beer (!) and then go home to enjoy really delicious tamales,” said Cristy Barnes. “Thanks so much for your efforts to support the Foundation.”

The post Menlo-Atherton High School parents support Foundation for the Future with drive-thru tamale party appeared first on InMenlo.

Ambassador Girl Scout Stella Kaval, who is a senior at Menlo Atherton High School, just completed her Gold Award Project, which focused on changing the perception of disability in the community.

“I focused on Cerebral Palsy (CP), a condition that affects the movement of one’s muscles. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. It is a condition that affects 17 million people in the world and many people in my community.

“I addressed the root cause of the issue in three ways: sharing about CP through a video documentary, educating about inclusion for youth in the community, and empowering kids with CP via a mobile app.

Stella met author Becky Taylor and read her book Tell Me the Number Before Infinity, which goes into depth about how she was raised and the barriers she faced as a child with Cerebral Palsy, especially when kids wouldn’t include her.

She also interviewed Alva Gardner at Ability Now Bay Area who educated her about accessibility and lack of accommodations offered at universities and how this impacted her education. Alva now helps adults with disabilities achieve their goals.

After meeting with the founder of nonprofit WAWOS, Jaquie Robison, and hearing the story of her daughter Sofia, she learned that having Cerebral Palsy is isolating and challenging with few activities for children.

Learn more about Stella’s project online.

Photo of Stella with PHD student and Google intern Muratcan Cicek and his mother Mrs. Cicek courtesy of Stella

The post Ambassador Girl Scout Stella Kaval works to change the perception of disability for her Gold Award Project appeared first on InMenlo.

The post Three Menlo-Atherton High School athletes commit to play soccer and volleyball in college appeared first on InMenlo.

Menlo Atherton High School senior Sathvik Nori is one of two students selected to represent California in the 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Jamal Willis, a senior at Barstow High School, is the other representative.

The USSYP provides an opportunity for selected students to gain an in-depth view of the Senate and the federal government as well as gain a deeper understanding of the interrelationship of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The program provides a foundation of knowledge and encouragement for those considering a future in public service on the local, state, or national level.

Two student leaders from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity each receive a $10,000 scholarship and will participate in Washington Week Online, an interactive experience, from March 14–18, 2021.

Sathvik Nori serves as the only high school student and youngest Commissioner on the San Mateo Juvenile Justice Commission. In addition, he is actively engaged in his school and community as a Student Trustee for the school board, President of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, Chair of the San Mateo Youth Commission, and Editor-in-Chief of the M-A Chronicle. A nationally ranked debater and Captain of the school Debate Team, he advocates for teen awareness and equity issues for diverse groups to be well-represented in politics.

Sathvik has also received international honors: He was selected as one out of 10 student leaders from over 1,000 candidates to participate in an Iraqi-Youth Exchange Program to expand civic engagement and intercultural communication. He hopes to explore majors in public policy or political science followed by a graduate degree in law to focus on progressive justice reforms.

The post M-A senior Sathvik Nori selected to represent California in U.S. Senate Youth Program appeared first on InMenlo.

On Wednesday, February 24th’s Board meeting, SUHSD Interim Superintendent Crystal Leach announced that all students who choose may return to in-person instruction on April 5th, after reaching a tentative agreement with the teachers union. Anticipating that most teachers and staff will have the opportunity to be vaccinated by the reopening date, the District plans to implement a “concurrent” learning model where students will have the option to attend class in-person with COVID restrictions or virtually.

The announcement comes after Tuesday’s protest to reopen SUHSD, but also was met with contention from teachers and community members who were largely concerned about equity issues that fall along racial and socioeconomic lines.

The agreement between the Sequoia District Teachers Association (SDTA) and the District must be approved by more than 50% of the union’s members.

Teachers union president Edith Salvatore stated that coming to the agreement has been a long process, and the rhetoric has at-times gotten ugly. “Your teachers have been beaten up over this,” she said. “We are tired of being the punching bag, and it’s time for us to come together.”

According to Leach’s presentation, there will be a 25% student and faculty capacity at each school. A concrete schedule for in-person learning has not been set, and more details will be available in several weeks once the District gauges student interest and teacher availability.

The April 5th return date will come after a week-long spring break. Still, the basis of the concurrent instruction plan, called “Zoomers and roomers,” is that some students will be on campus but take classes on computers, while others will watch a livestream or Zoom call from home.

Board President Alan Sarver said: “We are looking at the largest single step forward that we’ve been able to engineer over the past year.”

Despite awaited reopening plans, the public comment section revealed mixed emotions about this decision.

Several public commenters told others to “follow the science.” The CDC suggests that going back to school with masks and social distancing in the purple zone is safe. Other data also further supports this idea. In North Carolina, 11 school districts with over 90,000 students went back to in-person school in the fall of 2020. During nine weeks of this, within the school, transmissions were infrequent, where only 32 infections occurred. Moreover, there were no reported student-to-staff infections. The CDC also suggested that when social distancing and mask guidelines were followed, there were fewer covid transmissions per capita in schools versus the community as a whole.

In response, Board Trustee DuBois stated, “I have also heard that the data and the science across the country are not adequate when it comes to high school and large comprehensive high school, because older teens aren’t great at social distancing.”

Some teachers, like M-A teacher Abigail Korman, expressed discontent at being told earlier in the year that schools would not return to in-person learning until the county was in the yellow tier. The county moved to the red tier on February 24th, the same day the reopening date was announced.

In addition, many teachers and students spoke about equity concerns. With East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and North Fair Oaks being the cities with the highest infection rates in the county, many public commenters cited the statistic that while 2% of Atherton residents have been infected by the virus, 14% of EPA residents have been infected. Moreover, vaccination rates have been higher in wealthier neighborhoods. EPA Academy Teacher Marilyn Travis said, “the evidence clearly shows that there are glaring inequities within our own county that must be taken into account. The decision to return to school is not only inequitable but also racist and irresponsible.”

Allison Mok, an EPA Academy teacher, told the Board, “If there’s even one student or staff member death, their death will be on your hands.”

Board member Shawneece Steevenson, explained her vote toward the plan: “I am struggling because we basically have two different populations and we have to serve them both in ways that make sense for them.”

Still, she stated that she saw the plan as the best model to suit the community’s varieties of needs. “Blood is not on my hands. I think we are making choices with the information we have.”

Brianna Aguayo, Violet Taylor, Katherine Welander, and Isabelle Stid contributed reporting. 

Photo by Betsy Sergeant Snow (c) 2012

The post Menlo-Atherton High School to re-open at 25% capacity on April 5 appeared first on InMenlo.

The Menlo-Atherton High School choir has created a lovely version of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. We recommend you listen/watch via YouTube.  Of note: Fleetwood Mac members Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham both graduated from M-A.

Emails choir teacher Peter John Reinman: “The song Dreams made a comeback in 2020 when this video went viral on Tik Tok. The video is just a guy on his skateboard, drinking cranberry juice, and rocking out.

“The kids were really excited to sing the tune. The soloist, Zoe Joyce (in the center), who is now a junior, has previous experience performing the song her freshman year at M-A. The performance is most definitely a nod to Lindsey and Stevie.”

Emails Zoe: “I originally sang Dreams at the M-A 2018 Fall Cabaret. I did reach out to Stevie Nicks’ manager through a booking agent website, and I sent her the link to our choir’s rendition of Dreams. I thought it would be great for her to see, especially since she is an alumna, and I am interested in pursuing a career in the music industry! I haven’t heard anything back yet, but I’m happy [the latest Dreams] is getting so much exposure.”

The post Treat yourself to “Dreams” sung by the Menlo-Atherton High School choir appeared first on InMenlo.

Proceeds from the M-A Foundation Auction, which goes through Sunday, March 21 at 9:00 pm, go directly to education and programs for students at Menlo-Atherton High School. Auction items include parties, events, tickets, getaways and more.

Fund-a-Need this year goes to tech and tools to support the return to campus in April.

Learn more about what the Foundation supports at M-A. Visit the auction site.

InMenlo file photo of Menlo-Atherton High School campus by Betsy Sergeant Snow (c) 2011

The post M-A Foundation Auction live now through March 21 appeared first on InMenlo.

Menlo-Atherton High School principal Simone Rick-Kennel is taking on a new role as Executive Director of Small School Innovation, the Sequoia Union High School District announced today.

Simone has been at M-A for the past 19 years, first as a special education teacher and then Dean of Students, followed by Vice Principal and the last six years as principal.

“In many ways, transitions are a part of life and while this one will be a significant one for me and the school, I know M-A is a great school, in a great place to continue doing remarkable things for students with highly dedicated teaching, classified and administrative staff that I could not be more proud of,” said Simone in a letter to the school community. “ It is a school that embodies our collective community and it will continue to be an amazing school focused on our vision and mission to celebrate and make Strength in Diversity a reality for every student. “

In her new role, Simone will be responsible for overseeing the District’s three small schools (TIDE Academy, Redwood High School, and East Palo Alto Academy). In her new role, one of the key areas she will be responsible for is serving as Co-Principal of TIDE Academy to strengthen and further TIDE’s philosophical underpinnings of preparing students for college and career success, provide students with individualized attention in a small environment, and to ensure deep learning through a personal approach.

Simone’s last day as principal of M-A will be June 30, 2021, and she will begin as Executive Director of Small Schools Innovation on July 1, 2021.

Earlier this month, Menlo Park City School District Superintendent Erik Burmeister recommended that Oak Knoll Principal Kristen Gracia be appointed to the district’s new role of Assistant Superintendent for Talent and Technology.

This position will consolidate the roles of two directors that will be open at the end of the year. “As we come out of the pandemic, plan for budget cuts, and need to pass a parcel tax, having an additional leader in the district office who knows MPCSD inside out and who has a track record of building teams and tackling big challenges, will ensure that MPCSD remains the responsive, learner-centered, innovative district it is known to be,” wrote Parke Treadway in a press release.

A formal contract will be considered by the Board at the March 25 meeting. Opportunity for Board discussion and public comment will occur on March 25, and the Board will vote on the appointment at that meeting.

InMenlo file photo of Simone Rick-Kennel  (c) 2015; photo of Kristen Gracia courtesy of MPCSD.

The post M-A and Oak Knoll principals set to assume new roles with their respective districts appeared first on InMenlo.

At the May 20, 2021 meeting of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District Board, Deputy Chief Mike Schaffer (pictured right) was named interim Fire Chief effective July 1, 2021. He replaces Chief Harold Schapelhouman whose final day will be June 30.

Chief Mike Shaffer has been with the Fire District since 1991 and was promoted to Division Chief in January 2017. He’s held the positions of Firefighter, Engine Driver, Rescue Drive, Truck Driver, Paramedic, Airboat Operator, Station Captain, Truck Captain and Battalion Chief.

Chief Shaffer has been a long time member of the State and Federal Urban Search and Rescue Program and the Fire District’s local and State Water Rescue Programs.

He is a veteran of various national incidents including the Oklahoma City Bombing, the World Trade Center Collapse and Hurricane Katrina.

Another transition is taking place at Menlo-Atherton High School with M-A’s instructional vice principal Karl Losekoot (pictured right) being named principal. He replaces Simone Rick-Kennel who is becoming the executive director for small school innovation and alternative education for the Sequoia Union High School District.

A 22-year veteran of SUHSD, Losekoot has served as Honors Institute and Compass program administrator, summer school principal, and English Department chair, among other positions.

“Karl Losekoot’s contributions to SUHSD have had a phenomenal impact on our students, staff, and families of Menlo-Atherton High School,” said Interim Superintendent Crystal Leach in a statement. “His experience and passion for education have supported the district’s mission of preparing students for excellence. We welcome him in this new role, and look forward to the leadership, goals and accomplishments he will bring as principal.”

Photo of Mike Shaffer courtesy of Menlo Park Fire Protection District; photo of Paul Losekoot courtesy of Menlo-Atherton High School

The post Changes in leadership at Menlo Park Fire and at Menlo-Atherton High School appeared first on InMenlo.