Small City, Deep Roots

El Campo has grown over the past 140 years from just a small railroad camp, known as the Pearl of the Prairie, into a thriving community of residents who are Ricebirds through and through. As the history indicates, El Campo thrives on the farming and the oil and gas industry. Learn more about El Campo on this link to the City of El Campo website.

Education

In around 1888, two neighboring families in El Campo decided they wanted to start a school for their children; the school opened in 1889 with seven students and one teacher. On August 15, 1895, the El Campo Independent School District was officially established. Their first item on the agenda involved the construction of a new school building. The original small wooden building which served as a school beginning in 1891, was getting crowded as more children moved to the area to get an education. The new school building was accepted by the board on January 3, 1902, was made of brick with five classrooms. It was then expanded in 1905 to add four more classrooms. 

Now, over 125 years later, El Campo ISD has expanded to five campuses with 3,437 students. ECISD consists of three elementary campuses: Myatt (PK - K), Hutchins (grades 1- 3), and Northside (grades 4-5); one middle school (grades 6-8); and one high school (grades 9-12). The average class size is 18 in the elementary grades and 15-25 in the secondary grades. 

El Campo ISD is Home of the Fighting Ricebirds and the school colors are red and white. “What is a Ricebird?”, you might ask. Well, El Campo is a big rice-growing area and there are a lot of Ricebirds (red-winged blackbirds) around here, so legend has it that is how we became the “Ricebirds”.