NMUSD/CCC Early College High School
Established	2006
School type	Public
Principal	Kathy Slawson
Location	Costa Mesa Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light... , California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Enrollment	up to 400
Colors	Light blue/Black/White
Homepage	ECHS

The Early College High School Initiative

Early College High School is a bold approach, based on the principle that academic rigor, combined with the opportunity to save time and money, is a powerful motivator for students to work hard and meet serious intellectual challenges. Early College High Schools blend high school and college in a rigorous yet supportive program, compressing the time it takes to complete a high school diploma and the first two years of college.

Early College High Schools are small schools from which students graduate with not only a high school diploma but also an Associate’s degree or up to two years of college credit toward a Bachelor’s degree. By changing the structure of the high school years and compressing the number of years to a college degree, Early College High Schools can improve graduation rates and better prepare students for entry into high-skill careers.

The History of N-MUSD/CCC Early College High School

Early College High School, otherwise known as "ECHS", is a collaborative effort between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Newport-Mesa Unified School District is a school district in Orange County, California, United States, that mainly serves the cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. The district was founded on July 1, 1966...

 and Coastline Community College

Coastline Community College

Coastline Community College is a community college with three mini-campuses and an administration building in Fountain Valley, California. The college offers Associate in Arts degrees, Associate in Science degrees, courses to prepare students to transfer to a 4-year college or university, and...

. It is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Costa Mesa, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located at 2990 Mesa Verde Drive East in Costa Mesa, CA. Previously it being at Backbay/ Monte Vista High School Campus.

Newport-Mesa USD/Coastline Community College Early College High School opened in August 2006. The program is structured to provide successful, challenging, and meaningful experiences for students. ECHS is an academic program intended to enable students to pursue post-secondary education at a community college, four-year college, or university.

Students are offered not only the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and meet university entrance requirements, but they also take college courses for which they receive college units through concurrent enrollment.

ECHS has a maximum population of one hundred students per grade level, allowing for smaller class sizes, frequent opportunities for individual participation, and personalized attention from faculty and staff. All the environment are cool but the students lack teachers expectations.