Message from the Principal

Willow Oaks School is located at 620 Willow Road in Menlo Park with an enrollment of 518 students in grades K-8. The ethnic profile of Willow Oaks students reflects the rich, cultural diversity of the community. The breakdown in ethnicity for our population is as follows: 82% Hispanic, 7% Pacific Islander, 7% African-American, and 3% other. Approximately 80% of our population speaks Spanish as their first language. Our statistics show that 16% of the parents graduated from high school.

Willow Oaks has an 91% free and reduced lunch rate and we are designated as a Title I schoolwide program. Willow Oaks has approximately 55 identified children with Individual Education Plans. We are an inclusion site serving the needs of our diverse population within the classrooms. We do offer additional help for our students who are falling below proficiency. We have several intervention programs at Willow Oaks including the After School Program, Supplementary Services Program after-school, Reading Recovery (K-3), Newcomer Program (3-8) and small group intervention both during and after school. The school also has a Team Intervention Plan (TIP) committee to support the concerns of teachers with challenging students by setting up an action plan to address their concerns.

The staff consists of a principal, and an administrative manager. There is an office manager, bilingual clerk, librarian, computer lab instructor, and PE teacher. The instructional staff consists of 24 teachers in grades kinder through eighth - with four of these in Dual Immersion (Spanish and English classes in grades K-3.) We have six para-educators, a speech staff, a school psychologist and four education specialists to work with the general education population including students with individual education plans. We also have four yard duty personnel.

We have several community partners who work with our school and offer focus programs in areas of need based on surveys and demographics. These include: Counseling Program for K-8, SMART program (Television and eating), SPORT program (Obesity), Music in the Schools, BookPals Program, YMCA PE for lower grades, Sex Education training for grades 5 & 8, Art in Action for K-5 grades. Willow Oaks School is a very collaborative team working closely to improve instruction, programs and supplementary services each year. The success of our school lies in our highly qualified, talented and dedicated team that wants to be here despite the challenges we face daily to make a difference with this population of students that we all care for very much.

Vision: Willow Oaks Elementary School is a place where everyone learns and everyone teaches. Our goal and purpose is to prepare our students to educate themselves throughout their lives. We believe that all students have potential and are winners. The expectation is SUCCESS!

Mission:Willow Oaks is dedicated to recognition of the unique value of each person; providing active learning in a safe, supportive environment; developing an understanding of contemporary issues and technology; and promoting a partnership between home, school and community. We have made a strong commitment to provide a positive climate for learning in which all students can reach their fullest potential in academics, attitudes, athletics, and the arts. Specifically:

• We strive to create and maintain an atmosphere that fosters the healthy emotional, intellectual, social and physical growth of each student.
• We recognize the mastery of academic skills as a primary goal.
• We value education as a process of opening our students’ minds to critical thought and creative activity.
• We believe in the development of curriculum that encourages consideration for others, compassion, empathy, responsibility and self-discipline.
• We emphasize that learning is not confined to four walls of a classroom and that it does not end with the school year.
• We acknowledge that we learn best in an environment of sharing, caring, laughing, questioning, risking, learning and growing.