Costa Mesa High School

What Costa Mesa High School does

Costa Mesa Middle and High School is a combined public school campus serving grades 7 through 12 in Costa Mesa, California, operated by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD). Founded in 1958, the institution delivers a comprehensive secondary academic program that includes Advanced Placement coursework, Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) pre-engineering curriculum, Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), world languages, and interscholastic athletics. The campus operates on a distinctive 8-period block schedule, an unusually broad course catalog for a school of its size.

The school's core product is secondary education delivered to geographically zoned resident students, with no tuition or pricing mechanism — funding flows from the district via California's Local Control Funding Formula. Operational differentiation is achieved through partnerships that extend the academic offering beyond the standard high school curriculum: a dual-enrollment agreement with Orange Coast College allows students to earn transferable college credit, a Coastline ROP partnership delivers regional occupational coursework, and adoption of the SchooLinks platform provides structured college and career planning tooling. AP Computer Science Principles extends the curriculum into computing fundamentals.

The institution is led by Principal Jeff Giles following a recent leadership transition. Strategic emphasis under the current administration is on layered post-secondary bridge programming (dual enrollment, PLTW, expanded CTE), positioning the school as a pipeline to both college and career outcomes within a fixed local catchment. There are no commercial revenue mechanics, no customer acquisition channels, and no geographic expansion levers — value creation is achieved through program breadth and pathway quality within the assigned residential zone.

Name

Costa Mesa High School

Legal name

Costa Mesa Middle and High School

Website

https://cmhs.nmusd.us

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Costa Mesa Middle and High School is a combined public 7-12 campus in Costa Mesa, California, operated by Newport-Mesa Unified School District, serving zoned resident students with AP, CTE, PLTW engineering, dual-enrollment, and athletics programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC), Public Career & Technical Education (CTE) Centers & Programs (EDAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Public secondary education
• College preparatory programs
• Career technical education
• Advanced placement courses
• Comprehensive high school

Headquarters

HQ city

Costa Mesa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Costa Mesa Middle and High School is a public school operated by Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD). Funding comes from state and federal education allocations, local property taxes, and district budgets rather than direct tuition or fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Costa Mesa High School is a public secondary institution serving students in grades 7–12 on a single combined campus. It offers a comprehensive academic program including college-preparatory coursework, Advanced Placement courses, Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways such as Project Lead The Way and Coastline ROP, Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages, Mandarin Dual Immersion, athletics, and a College and Career Center. The school operates as part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and is publicly funded.

Product overview

Costa Mesa Middle and High School is a combined 7th-12th grade campus offering comprehensive educational programs through a unified platform structure. The school provides core academic programs in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science, supplemented by specialized programs including Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages (Spanish and Mandarin), Project Lead The Way engineering courses, and Career Technical Education pathways. The institution operates through grade-specific divisions (Middle School and High School) with shared counseling, athletics, and college/career services. The school offers an Advanced Placement program, dual enrollment opportunities with local community colleges, and extensive extracurricular activities including athletics and clubs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grades 7–12 Academic Program Core college-preparatory academic program delivered on a combined 7–12 campus for resident students in the NMUSD attendance area.
• Advanced Placement (AP) Courses College-level AP coursework offered to high school students for college credit and preparation.
• Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Career Technical Education PLTW curriculum providing applied STEM and pre-engineering career technical education pathways for students.
• Coastline ROP / CTE Classes Regional Occupational Program (ROP) CTE classes delivered through Coastline ROP for students seeking career-focused coursework.
• Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Program Visual and performing arts program providing arts education and performance opportunities for students.
• World Languages Program Foreign language coursework for students seeking world language credits and proficiency.
• Mandarin Dual Immersion Program Mandarin dual immersion program providing bilingual instruction in Mandarin and English for participating students.
• Athletics Program School athletics program providing interscholastic sports participation for students.
• College and Career Center College and career planning center supporting students with post-secondary preparation, including use of the SchooLinks platform.
• School Counseling Services Counseling services for academic advising, social-emotional support, and post-secondary planning.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coastline ROP (Regional Occupational Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer Technical Education partnership providing hands-on courses combining classroom instruction with industry experts. Offers free classes in healthcare, manufacturing technologies, digital media arts. Many courses articulate for college credit at local community colleges including Saddleback and OCC.
• Orange Coast CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual enrollment partnership allowing high school students grades 9-12 to take OCC classes and earn college credit towards degrees or transfer. High school students exempt from per unit enrollment fee.
• SchooLinkscoreTechnology or IntegrationCollege and career platform used for college rep scheduling, college application management, career exploration, and letter of recommendation requests. Students and families can create accounts to access college planning tools.
• ParentSquarecoreTechnology or IntegrationCommunication platform used by all NMUSD schools to send messages, alerts, and updates to families. Available via app, email, and text with translation support in multiple languages.
• College BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for AP course delivery and SAT/PSAT testing. School offers AP exams in May for multiple subjects including English, Science, Math, Social Science, World Languages, and VAPA.
• Project Lead The Way (PLTW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering curriculum provider for middle and high school PLTW courses including Introduction to Engineering, Principles of Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and medical/robotics courses for middle school.
• Irvine Valley CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity college partnership for dual enrollment and transfer pathways with Irvine Valley Promise Program available.
• Santa Ana CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity college partnership for dual enrollment and transfer pathways with online front desk and CA College Promise Grant Appeal available.
• Coastline Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity college partnership for dual enrollment with CA College Promise for financial support.
• Golden West CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity college partnership for dual enrollment with Golden Promise program for financial support.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Back Bay High School: NMUSD alternative-education high school. Direct peer at the district level, though differentiated by alternative-education mission rather than comprehensive college-prep focus.
• Ensign Intermediate School: NMUSD public intermediate school. Direct peer as a district middle-grade institution sharing curriculum frameworks, scheduling, and feeder-pipeline dynamics with Costa Mesa Middle School.
• Davis Magnet School: NMUSD magnet school offering specialized thematic curricula. Peer because it competes for the same in-district families seeking differentiated public school options.
• Corona del Mar Middle and High School: NMUSD combined 7–12 campus with AP, athletics, and Signature Academy model structurally identical to Costa Mesa. Highly comparable as a like-for-like combined-campus peer within the same district.
• Early College High School (NMUSD): NMUSD public high school with a college-focused, dual-enrollment-heavy model. Direct peer because it overlaps on dual-enrollment partnerships with the same community college district.
• Estancia High School: Sister comprehensive public high school within NMUSD serving Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, offering comparable AP, athletics, and college-prep programs. Direct peer because it shares district funding, governance, and overlapping student catchment.
• Newport Harbor High School: Comprehensive public high school in NMUSD offering AP, CTE pathways, and similar college-prep infrastructure. Direct peer due to identical district operating model and adjacent geographic catchment.
• Monte Vista Independent Study: NMUSD alternative-education option providing independent study pathways for grades K–12. Peer at the district level for families choosing non-traditional public school formats within NMUSD.
• Esperanza High School: Comprehensive public high school in Placentia-Yorba Linda USD where new Costa Mesa principal Jeff Giles previously led academic improvement. Direct peer because of comparable AP, CTE, and athletics offerings and recent leadership link.
• TeWinkle Middle School: NMUSD intermediate/middle school serving the Costa Mesa area. Direct peer as a district-operated public middle school with overlapping feeder relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nmusd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@newportmesausd
• Facebookfacebook.com/nmusd
• Instagraminstagram.com/costamesamhs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/costamesahighschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Costa Mesa High School