North Coast is the alternative high school serving the San Dieguito Union High School District and shares a campus with Sunset.  North Coast’s course of study is consistent with the district’s curriculum, shaped by state and district academic standards. North Coast uses state-approved, district-adopted textbooks and employs the same graduation requirements as the other high schools in the district. 

North Coast consists of two classrooms and two small offices.  The school operates on a year-round calendar so that the students can attend during the summer. The principal, Don Rizzi, serves both North Coast and Sunset.

North Coast is an individualized program that operates on an independent-study format, and students from throughout the district transfer here for a variety of reasons.  Upon registration, the transferring student and North Coast teacher work together to develop a plan that will best meet the student’s needs.  Students are required to attend school a minimum of one time per week, while completing at least 20-hours of schoolwork each week.  Students who wish to attend school more than the once-a-week requirement are welcome to do so.  Teachers are available to assist students, administer tests, and assign new classes each school day from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Students at North Coast usually enroll in two academic classes at time, allowing full effort to be focused on those two classes.  Consequently, in order to stay on track in meeting graduation goals, classes must be completed at a faster rate than the regular semester format.  Students who wish to stay on pace with the traditional high schools should complete two classes every 6 to 8 weeks depending on summer attendance.