Mira Costa High School Profile 2016-2017 1401 Artesia Blvd. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (310) 318-7337 Fax (310) 303-3814

CEEB Code: 051895

Adminis tration Superintendent

Dr. Michael Matthews Principal

Dr. Ben Dale Vice Pr incipal

Dr. Karina Gerger Vice Pr incipal

Deborah Hofreiter Vice Pr incipal Jon Shaw Jr.

Vice Pr incipal Kristin Wolberg

Counselors

A-Da: Jennifer Wildenberg Dh-Hoo : Corrine Lee-Iwai

Hop-Mh: Br ittney Olson Mi-Se : David Beck Sf-Z: Emily Sommer

College Counselors

Caryn Ramirez El izabeth Rieken Shalyn Tharayi l

Academic Support

Counselors Keshia Fields

El iza Santarosa

School Information Mira Costa High School is a 4-year comprehensive public high school, nationally recognized for academic excellence, serving approximately 2,600 students in grades 9-12. Mira Costa serves a diverse student body in the South Bay of Los Angeles County. It is the sole high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School Distr ict and serves students from Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and students by permit from surrounding communities. These communities are mostly middle to upper income suburban towns located southwest of metropolitan Los Angeles. There are about 124 certificated staff members, including 5 administrators, 5 guidance counselors, 3 col lege and career counselors, and 2 academic support counselors. The teacher to student ratio is 29 to 1.

Mission Statement The Mira Costa school community strives to maximize the unique potential of each student, to cultivate the skills essential for lifelong learning and to nurture responsible citizenship. Our tradition of excellence provides a positive learning environment which includes: a wide range of curricular and co-curricular opportunities; clear expectations for academic achievement and responsible behavior; respect for people, property, and ideas; programs that develop the skills of communication, teamwork, problem-solving, technology, and information management; and dedicated and supportive staff, parents, and community partners who focus on "students first.”

Curriculum Mira Costa High School demands academic excellence from all students. All students are required to complete 230 credits with 5 credits earned for each class completed per semester. The school is on a traditional semester schedule. There are 6 periods with an optional 0 period. Freshmen-Juniors are required to take 6 classes. Seniors may take 5 classes. All classes meet for 56 minutes daily, with a periodic office hours schedule. Mira Costa provides a wide range of rigorous courses for students including 26 Advanced Placement/Honors courses, pathways, and Science labs. Students are limited to taking 4 AP classes per year. The following advanced/accelerated courses are offered at Mira Costa High School:

Mathematics AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC

AP JAVA AP Statistics

Algebra II/Trigonometry AP Computer Science A

A

Foreign Language

AP French Language AP Spanish Language AP Spanish Literature

Art/Music AP Art History

AP Music Theory AP Studio Art

English AP English Literature

English 10 Adv English 11 H

Science AP Biology

AP Chemistry AP Environmental

Science AP Physics

Chemistry H Earth Science H

Social Science AP American Government

AP Human Geography

AP Economics AP European History

AP Psychology AP US History

Grading and Distribution Mira Costa has a traditional A to F grading system. GPAs are calculated on a weighted 5-point system for AP courses only. All other courses factor into the GPA based on a 4-point scale. Mira Costa does not compute class rank, and does not name a Valedictorian.

AP International Diploma AP Capstone AP Seminar

AP Research

Senior Recognition Mira Costa designates honor

graduates based on the following GPA system:

Suma cum laude – 4.0 and above Magna cum laude – 3.76-3.9

Cum Laude – 3.5-3.75

Academy of Art University American Musical and Dramatic Academy American University Amherst College Arizona State University Babson College Bard College Boston College Boston University Brigham Young University Brown University California Lutheran University Cal Poly Pomona Cal Poly San Luis Obispo CSU Channel Islands CSU Dominguez Hills CSU Fullerton CSU Long Beach CSU Monterey Bay CSU Northridge CSU Sonoma Chapman College Claremont-McKenna College Clark Atlanta University College of the Canyons College of William and Mary Colorado State University Columbia University Concordia University Cornell University Cuesta College Dartmouth College Davidson College

Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College Ohio State University Olin College of Engineering Oregon State University Pace University Parson’s School of Design Pepperdine University Point Loma Nazarene University Pomona College Princeton University Purdue University Reed College Rennselaer Poly Inst. Rhodes College Rhode Island School of Design Saint Mary’s College of California Saint Mary’s of Notre Dame Salisbury University San Diego State San Francisco Conservatory of Music San Jose State Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Santa Monica City College School of Museum of Fine Arts Scripps College Seattle Pacific University Southern Illinois University Southern Methodist University

South Puget Sound Community College St. Olaf College Stanford University Stevens College Suffolk University Swarthmore College Syracuse University Texas A&M University The Art Institute of California San Francisco The Master’s College Trinity College Tufts University Tulane University UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Irvine UC Los Angeles UC Riverside UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Cruz UC San Diego University College London University of Arizona University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Connecticut University of Denver University of Florida University of Hartford University of Indiana University of Louisville University of Maine

University of Massachusetts University of Miami University of Michigan University of Missouri, Kansas City University of Nevada, Reno University of New England University of New Hampshire University of North Dakota University of Northern Colorado University of Oregon University of Puget Sound University of Redlands University of Rhode Island University of Southern California University of San Diego University of Texas University of the Pacific University of Washington University of Wisconsin at Madison Ventura College Villanova University Virginia Tech University Wake Forest University Western Washington University West Los Angeles College Westminster College Westmont College Wheaton College Whitman College Whittier College Yale University

72%

19%9%

4-year University 2-year College Other

College Matriculation Data for 2015-2016

SAT Averages Critical Reading - 577

Math - 585 Writing - 573

ACT Averages English - 27.4 Math - 26.7

Reading - 27.5 Science - 26.2

Composite - 27.1

Mira Costa is a GRAMMY

Signature School Gold Recipient

Mustang Morning News is a National

Scholastic Press Association

Pacemaker Award Finalist

Model United Nations National Champions

CIF Champion Girls Beach Volleyball

Boys Volleyball Boys Water polo

Cross Country Girls Golf Hockey Rugby

Surf

Mira Costa is a California Distinguished School and a

California Business for Education Excellence School

Typical Student Awards National Merit Scholar National Honor Society

CSF Life Members Science Olympiad Finalists

International Math Champions Northrop-Grumman Challenge

Boeing Internship Jerry Herman Awards

National Council of Teachers of English

Denver Community College DePaul University Drew University Drexel University Duke University El Camino College

Emerson College Fort Lewis College Fresno Pacific University Fresno State Georgetown University George Washington University Gonzaga University Hamilton College Hampshire College Hampton University Harvard College Hofstra University Howard University Lehigh University Lewis University Louisiana State University Los Angeles Harbor College Loyola Marymount University Loyola University of Chicago Marymount College Michigan State University Morehouse College Mount Saint Mary’s College New England Conservatory of Music New York University Northeastern University Northern Arizona University

College Acceptances Mira Costa graduates are admitted to colleges and universities across the country. Ninety-one percent of graduates enter institutions of higher learning. Here is a partial list of where our graduates are attending:

Here is a partial list of where our graduates are attending from the last three graduating classes.