La Costa Canyon High School first opened in September of 1996, shortly after San Dieguito High School changed its name to San Dieguito Academy. LCC was the image for a new type of school, one where students could have a diverse choice of involvement in academics, arts, and athletics.

Some teachers like Mr. Cassaw, have been here for 25 years, others, like Mr. Vice, from the very start! Mr. Vice, US History teacher and cross country coach, shares his experiences throughout his years of teaching at LCC. “I taught at San Dieguito High School for 5 years before LCC opened up. They changed SDHS into SDA and they didn't have sports there. Because I coach it was a no brainer to come to LCC,” said Vice.

Mr. Cassaw, a World History teacher and basketball coach, has his own unique experience with teaching at LCC. He moved from a small town in Kansas, and had hopes of new opportunities in California.

“I moved to Cali from Kansas without a job, so landing here for me was better than anything I could have dreamed of. I'm thankful every day for the opportunity to be here, living in Socal and working with amazing co-workers and students,” said Cassaw.

Although some clubs and activities have stayed the same, there are a number of things that have been added, discarded, or changed over time.

“We used to have a Social Justice Class, but we don't have that anymore. We now have Pop Culture....we've always had Surf PE....surf's up,” said Vice.

“New things that come to mind would be the addition of AP World History in the early 2000's. Surfboard Shaping, Marketing, and Shark Tank Friday's...MavNation…,” said Cassaw.

Classes aren’t the only thing that have changed, so has the campus itself. New additions and changes have been made since the school opened to make our campus more enjoyable such as Maverick Park

“[The campus] was barren! No trees or bushes and it was really hot!” said Vice.

“Physically the school was very bland and lacking the signage we now have that supports our logo and Mav pride. We also didn't originally have a logo because the closure of San Dieguito HS forced the attendance for those seniors (their only year at LCC) and there was some bad vibes for this new school. Some of those bad vibes came from teachers who were forced to leave San Dieguito as well, and theywere not excited to be at LCC. I was the JV basketball coach back then and the first T-shirt I wore actually had a small mustang pony on it,” said Cassaw.

Over the years the students have also changed, not just in numbers, but also internal aspects. Mr. Vice shares how he feels school spirit has fallen since he started teaching, and students have lost enthusiasm.

“At one time I believe we had 2500 students. We now have 1600! I believe we had much more school spirit in the past. I miss that,” said Vice.

LCC has been around for almost 2 ½ decades! Even after all the changes the school has experienced what still remains the same is the heart of our school's community.

“I am incredibly proud of being a Maverick. My life's work will be this school. I want it to be the best place it can possibly be for all students… Go MAVS!” said Cassaw.