Menlo School in Atherton teaches grades 6 through 12 in a middle school and an upper school on one campus. Our tutors are current and former Stanford students, and we offer Menlo students one-on-one tutoring in their classes and help applicants get ready for the admission assessment.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.
Seventy-minute blocks on a seven-day rotation
Menlo runs a seven-day rotating block schedule. Upper school classes last 70 minutes and meet four to a day, and middle school classes run 65. A class that skips a day or two leaves time for material to fade, and one long block covers plenty. A weekly tutor closes that gap by reworking the last block’s problems before the next one arrives.
Enriched and honors math at Menlo
Menlo’s 6th grade math is not leveled. From 7th grade, students take Pre-Algebra and then Algebra at grade level or enriched; both versions teach the same concepts, the enriched one in more depth, and the school offers no compacted or accelerated course. Ninth graders start in Analytic Geometry & Algebra, its honors version, or Integrated Geometry & Algebra, and honors placement comes from a department test. Teachers may adjust placements in the first weeks. Math tutoring in that window helps a student show what they can do, or settle into a level that fits.
Physics and a seminar in 9th grade
Menlo’s freshman program is mostly set: English 1, Modern World History, Physics 1 or Conceptual Physics and a 9th Grade Seminar, plus math and a world language. Physics that early leans on algebra a student has only just learned, so our science tutors often teach the two together.
The STAR Assessment for applicants
Applying to Menlo? Menlo now uses the STAR Assessment for admission, and we can help students prepare for it. In recent years local applicants have taken it on computer at Menlo, a computer-adaptive reading section and a math section, along with a handwritten writing sample. Middle school math draws on concepts from about 3rd to 6th grade, and upper school math reaches high school algebra and geometry. Menlo has not accepted SSAT, ISEE or HSPT scores from Bay Area applicants. Learn more about our admission test prep.
What a math parent says
“My daughter went from a C in Algebra II to an A- in one semester.”
Eduardo S. · Yelp review
Study habits and motivation
“The tutor (who was a Stanford junior) really connected with my son and inspired him to learn. He had some great study tips and was able to help my son raise his grades by quite a bit.”
Pamela T., Palo Alto · Yelp review
Tutoring happens at your home in Atherton or a neighboring town, or online, one-on-one. We also work with students at Sacred Heart Prep. Let us know your student’s grade and what feels hardest right now.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.