Belle Haven Elementary, Menlo Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on Belle Haven Elementary

Belle Haven Elementary is a small, neighborhood-serving elementary school in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park, enrolling a largely Hispanic and low-income student body. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Ravenswood City Elementary School District.

The school's state testing results reveal very low proficiency rates across subjects. In English language arts, overall proficiency across the grade band sits in the low single digits, with particularly weak results in grade three. Math proficiency is similarly low, at just a few percentage points across grades three, four, and five. Science proficiency in grade five is also very low. These numbers place Belle Haven at the bottom quartile for overall proficiency among the districts in San Mateo County. A parent may want to look into further details with the school about their reading and math intervention supports, whether students are receiving specialized instruction in English, and how the school is addressing these proficiency gaps.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and a smaller share of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating concentrated economic disadvantage. No data on special education enrollment or English learner rates was available, so parents should ask the school directly about those populations and any services or supports in place.

Belle Haven Elementary is located in one of Menlo Park's distinct neighborhoods, Belle Haven, which sits east of downtown and is served by free city shuttle bus routes. The neighborhood is part of a Peninsula city known for its tech-sector presence and affluent residential character, yet Belle Haven itself has a notably different economic profile from much of Menlo Park. Menlo Park as a whole is centered around downtown, with a pedestrian-oriented shopping and dining district, parks and recreation facilities, and Caltrain commuter rail access. The city sits in an expensive housing market.

The district that operates Belle Haven has faced significant structural changes. Two of its five schools were closed and consolidated into remaining campuses several years ago due to declining enrollment and budget shortfalls, ending neighborhood walkability for most students and putting nearly all on buses. More recently, the closure of The Primary School, a private school in neighboring East Palo Alto, will send a wave of new students into the district, reversing its decline but straining facilities. A bond measure on the November ballot would raise property taxes to upgrade school buildings and replace portable structures, a direct ongoing cost for property owners in the district. A parent considering Belle Haven should ask whether the school has space constraints, what condition the buildings and classrooms are in, and what staffing or program changes may result from the enrollment influx.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 17% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 48 pts below county median

Grade 42%

School 2% · District 4% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 58 pts below county median

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 3% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 48 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 32%

School 2% · District 10% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 52 pts below county median

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 8% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 53 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 12% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 54 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 5% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 47 pts below county median

This schoolRavenswood City Elementary, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.