Mira Costa High School

Overall, I thought it was good, but the administration is a joke.

Overall, MCHS is a pretty average school with a well-below-average administration. Like anywhere, there are some very good teachers and some not-so-good. When your school is composed of students from families who take school VERY seriously, you are bound to test well (certainly above the state average). The high test scores are seen by the administration and school board as signs that things are great and "Mira Costa is Special." But the high scores actually hide the fact that the school is very poorly led and administered. Because there is almost no real leadership, things like curricula, teacher quality, and teacher compliance with rules are very erratic - and the quality of education your student receives depends a lot on who your student has for his/her classes. Moreover, when major problems come up (like the unavailability of textbooks due to an asbestos problem), you find out how strong leadership is. For nearly the whole Fall '18 semester, many MCHS students took classes like Biology, Chemistry, Algebra, and Geometry without access to textbooks. Instead of leading a solution (like borrow/renting books and/or purchasing new books out of the district's $20M education foundation), the administration told teachers and students to work things out for themselves - taking pictures of the teacher's textbook pages, finding online curricula, etc. Overall, the principal and administration acts as if they have no authority to set standards, enforce rules, or solve problems - which isn't what I would expect from a "top-notch" high school.

I spent six years as parent at Mira Costa. As there were challenging times with teachers, the school offers a great opportunity for students with varying interest to find their place. Visual and Performing Arts, Model UN, and core curriculum resulting in a high school score in the State of California. Since my students graduated in 2014, class rigor has increased as well as STEM programs. We are blessed with a school district with so much support to keep teachers and programs intact. Would recommend MCHS to any MB, Hb or RB parent.

Costa's Model United Nations program is very successful. My daughter loves it and has blossomed there.