Del Norte opened on August 19, 2009. Its principal is Greg Mizel, the former principal of Mesa Verde Middle School. During its first year, Del Norte was expected to have approximately 700 students in order to create a personalized learning experience. Also notable was the absence of juniors and seniors, as the first year only contained freshmen and sophomores. The expected student population after the first few years was approximately 2,250 students. On May 13, 2014, the Bernardo Fire broke out near the school, leading to the evacuation of 21,000 nearby houses. On June 12, 2018, Greg Mizel announced he will be leaving his job as the school’s principal after the 2017-2018 school year. Bryan Schultz assumed the title of function holder at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.
Curriculum
Del Norte has expressed interest in adding the International Baccalaureate program to its curriculum, but this idea is still only under consideration. Recently, it was disclosed that course offerings at Del Norte have been limited by budget concerns. Due to this, Del Norte will not be offering many language and elective classes in its first few years. Del Norte offers a 3-by-5 system. It offers 3 trimesters and 5 classes per trimester for a total of 15 classes per year, similar to Mt. Carmel High School's current system. This layout offers one less class per year than RBHS and Westview's with the 4-by-4 system.
Campus
The school is modeled after the layout of another PUSD school, Westview. The design is a radial pattern, with all buildings linking to a central common area. The principal has announced that elective programs offered at the school will be based on student interest, following these ideas. Del Norte will also be equipped with the latest technology, including a school-wide data-sharing network, VoIP, and Promethean Activboards in all classrooms. The entire school is based on four key themes encompassing connectedness, flexibility, collaboration and communication. It is also intended to have an international focus to give students a more realistic view of the future. The website also states that the school is intended to "meet the demands of the 21st century", in order to prepare students for a constantly changing world.
Athletics
Del Norte has a comprehensive set of athletic buildings as well as an area devoted entirely to the arts. Del Norte has state-of-the-art facilities including five art labs, two music classrooms, one drama classroom, 11 career-technical education classrooms, a Performing Arts Center and a Fine Arts Village designed to blend traditional mediums of visual arts, drama and music. However, there are still allotted areas for 20 relocatable buildings in case further development is required. The athletic programs that are offered are: men's water polo, football, girls' field hockey, girls' golf, girls' tennis, girls' volleyball, and cross country in the fall; basketball, roller hockey, soccer, girls' water polo, and wrestling in the winter; boys' golf, lacrosse, boys' tennis, boys' volleyball, swimming/dive, baseball, softball, swimming, golf, and track and field in the spring. DNHS submitted a California Interscholastic Federation membership application for the 2009-2010 year.
