MPCSD Superintendent Erik Burmeister to resign effective 12/31/22
Menlo Park City School District Superintendent Erik Burmeister is resigning his position by December 31, 2022 to pursue other opportunities.
Superintendent Burmeister has been with MPCSD for 10 years, first as principal of Hillview Middle School, then as Assistant Superintendent, and as Superintendent since July 2017. During his tenure, the district has advanced transformative education leadership; defined its whole-child approach to learning and development; elevated the focus on justice and equity; passed two parcel taxes, Measures X and most recently B; and served as a leader in responding to and managing the delivery of excellent education during the ongoing pandemic.
MPCSD was the first in California to reopen to in-person learning in September 2020 and its practices have been followed by countless other districts across the country as a model of keeping schools open and staff and students safe.
In a letter to staff and parents community and the School Board, Burmeister wrote: “I have always been a big believer in John Wesley’s ‘rules of life’ to, ‘Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, for as long as you can’ (paraphrased). As I look back on the last two COVID years and the last ten years since I joined the MPCSD team as Principal of Hillview Middle School, I take great comfort in knowing that I have done all the good I can. I write today to tell you that beginning January 2023, it will be up to someone else to pick up where I have left off and do all the good he/she/they can do as I plan to resign my position as Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District by December 31, 2022.”
Superintendent Burmeister is recognized as a pioneer in bringing design mindsets to education and is frequently sought as a speaker and collaborator when educators want to build a learner-centered culture, improve outcomes for all students, and offer successful paths for students to succeed in the higher education and workplaces of the twenty-first century. A believer in strong teamwork, he has built a leadership team within MPCSD that will continue to serve the staff, students and community and allow students to engage, achieve, and thrive.
“Of course I’d like to keep him in MPCSD, but I also would like the wider world to benefit from his leadership gifts and his ability to keep focus on what matters most — in our case, our children’s learning and well-being,” said school board member Francesca Segre.
“He’s led us courageously and intelligently through the pandemic with determination, vision and grit. He was willing to do the hard work and make the tough calls when no one knew the way forward. He’s an inspiration to me.”
Today’s announcement offers the School Board a long runway to choose the right path forward for MPCSD and the opportunity for Burmeister to stay in the role to help with a smooth transition. The Board will agendize a discussion about the path forward at their regularly scheduled meeting next week, April 14. The community is invited to tune into that discussion via Zoom; details are provided at the MPCSD website under “Announcements.”
The Board will have the option of either selecting an internal candidate in a similar succession plan approach to the one that the Board followed when Burmeister was appointed superintendent or choosing instead to conduct a national search for the next leader. Burmeister will be on hand to support the Board in whatever direction they choose, including additional administrative adjustments to support a new leader, which will be announced later this week.
InMenlo file photo of Burmeister with student (c) 2019 and file photo of his with his family (c) 2018
