Mira Costa High School (MCHS, "Costa") is a four-year public high school located in Manhattan Beach, California that first began operating in 1950. It is the only high school in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. The school's athletic teams are known as the Mustangs and the school colors are green and gold. Mira Costa is located on the corner of Peck Avenue and Artesia Boulevard. History Groundbreaking for the site of the school took place on May 24, 1949 for the first high school in Manhattan Beach. It was a forty-acre site, that had belonged to a Japanese American landscaper who had been interned previously during World War II and was paid $60,000 for the land. Mira Costa High School opened on September 30, 1950. The school was dedicated by then-state superintendent of schools, Dr. Roy E Simpson, with additional remarks made by the president of the board of trustees. It was a part of the South Bay Union High School District until 1993, when this district was dissolved and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) was formed. School information As of the 2016–17 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,517 students and 98.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 25.5:1. There were 63 students (2.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 22 (0.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. Mira Costa is the only high school in the MBUSD. All residents of Manhattan Beach are eligible to attend. Residents of Hermosa Beach may choose to attend Redondo Union High School of the Redondo Beach Unified School District or Mira Costa. As of Fall 2006, Redondo Beach residents living in the 90278 zip code were allowed to attend Mira Costa. Occasionally, MBUSD policy did not allow Redondo Beach residents living in the 90278 ZIP code to attend Mira Costa. Controversy On June 11, 2020, hundreds of Mira Costa students and parents attended a march from Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach to celebrate their graduation in violation of CDC social distancing guidelines. Their actions attracted widespread negative attention from media and concerned citizens for putting others at risk during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, others were outraged over accusations of the march being disguised as a Black Lives Matter protest. Extracurricular activities and programs Choir program The Mira Costa Choir Program consists of four curricular choirs, Vocal Ensemble, Men's Choir, Advanced