Estacado Early College High School is a 4A

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school serving grades 9 through 12 in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, (

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

). It is part of the

Lubbock Independent School District Lubbock Independent School District was established in 1907. Accredited by the Texas Education Agency, Lubbock ISD is the largest school district that serves the city of Lubbock, Texas (USA). The Lubbock Independent School District covers and ...

. Estacado is a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

, with programs in medicine, law and criminal justice, engineering, and

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

. As of August 2016, Estacado High School became Estacade Early College High School, due to the partnership with

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Students, starting in the ninth grade, will be able to earn up to 60 hours of college dual credit hours. The school was founded in 1967. Estacado's colors are blue and silver and its mascot is the Matador. The school is located in the northeast part of the city, between

Mackenzie Park Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

and Lubbock City Park.

History

The school, named after the primarily Quaker settlement Estacado near

, opened late in 1967. The first principal was Olan Rice in 1969. The school was designed to accommodate 1,600 students, and was one of the first high schools in Lubbock to serve ninth graders.Estacado High School
''Lubbock Centennial Historical Landmarks''. Retrieved April 13, 2011. A $3.8 million facility, it originally included a vocational wing made up of

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, woodworking joints, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with Rock (geology), stone, clay and animal parts, ...

, and automobile body workshops, as well as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

labs. To allow other

students to take advantage of these vocational classes, they were eventually moved to the Advanced Technology Center in central

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

. The school implemented several magnet programs unique to its campus, beginning in the late 1990s. These included a medical program, an engineering program, and a criminal justice program which started in 2007.

Academics

Estacado has been named a persistently low-performing school by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

.Gulick, Joe
"Estacado staff aims to improve"
''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''. June 23, 2010. Retrieved from Proquest April 15, 2011. The school began a Campus Improvement Plan in 2010 with three goals: increasing the daily attendance of the students, meeting state and national educational standards, and better preparing students for college.

Extracurricular activities

Estacado High School offers various extracurricular activities including

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, athletics,

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

United States Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, tw ...

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was found ...

, and

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

. The school's

Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, tw ...

team made it to the state competition every year from 1997 to 2012. In 2009, Estacado was one of three high schools in the city to start a women's wrestling team.Cram, Travis
"Queens of the Mat"
''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''. Feb 8, 2009. Retrieved from Lonestar Varsity April 15, 2011.Estacado High School girls wrestling team
''Vimeo''. Retrieved April 15, 2011.

Jerry Gray Go Center

In 2008, the

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin. THECB det ...

awarded the school a $99,000 grant, along with

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It operates satellite branches in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center, formerly Reese Air Force Base, in western Lubbock, and the Lubbock Center near centra ...

and

, to encourage Estacado High students to go to college. Part of this money was used to create the Estacado High School Jerry Gray Go Center. Jerry Gray is an Estacado alumni and the current defensive back coach of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. The Jerry Gray Foundation now works with

to provide "matching corporate scholarships" to graduating Estacado students planning to attend

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. The foundation’s mission is to "motivate and empower young men and women with knowledge, financial resources, and the tools needed for achieving a higher education and for being successful in life." It provides guidance to students in different college-related areas including taking standardized testing, applying to schools, and completing financial aid paperwork.

Notable alumni

* A. J. Ramos, baseball pitcher

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control High schools in Lubbock, Texas Public high schools in Texas Magnet schools in Texas Lubbock Independent School District Educational institutions established in 1967 1967 establishments in Texas