Page 15 - Menlo Magazine Summer 2019

M E N L O MAGAZINE Menlo’s Head of School Than Healy explains why this campaign matters
and how it will impact every member of our community.
How will this campaign transform student experiences?
“Nearly every aspect of this campaign seeks to transform the student experience. From raising endowed funds to supporting financial assistance that will allow even more access to our unique programs such as M Term and the IP Program or the ability to go on life-changing Menlo Abroad trips, to helping ensure faculty support so that we can continue to attract the kinds of teachers our students need and deserve, to building the Commons and Spieker Center for the Performing Arts, both of which will bring people together at the heart of our campus, this campaign hits at the core of the student experience.”
How does this campaign benefit Menlo’s faculty?
“Our faculty are our greatest asset. They make the magic of
education happen, they develop lifelong relationships with our students, and they inspire us with new and creative ways to help students learn and grow. And they do this in an increasingly difficult economic housing market. Endowed funds to support faculty growth and salaries and current-use funds to help support housing initiatives to make it affordable to live in this area help preserve this incredible core of who we are.”
Why is it important to finish the campus?
“While nothing can replace the relationship between student and teacher working together as the core of what makes us great as a school, we endeavor to have spaces that build community, foster creativity, and make Menlo a place that students and adults alike look forward to coming to every day.”
The School has just broken ground on a long-awaited performing arts center. The Spieker Center for the Performing Arts, scheduled to open in the fall of 2020, will complete our central campus and serve every member of the community. It features a state-of-the-art theater, which will house all of Menlo’s performing arts programs, including the summer Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival, guest lectures, film and music festivals, and numerous special events. The center also has a dynamic lobby event space as well as a set building area, a green room, dressing rooms, a costume shop, and scenic storage.
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