Eau Claire Area School District

Eau Claire Area School District
Board of Education Office
500 Main Street Eau Claire United States
District information
Type	Public
Motto	“Where knowledge and inspiration meet to create the future.”
Grades	PreK-12
Established	1889 (1889)
President	Chris Hambuch-Boyle
Vice-president	Joe Luginbill
Superintendent	Dr. Mary Ann Hardebeck
Budget	US$130 million (2015)
Students and staff
Students	11,300
Staff	1,400
Athletic conference	Big Rivers Conference
Other information
Website	District website

The Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) is a school district in western Wisconsin. Covering approximately 200 square miles (520 km²), it includes the city of Eau Claire, part of Altoona, parts of the village of Lake Hallie, the towns of Brunswick, Clear Creek, Drammen, Pleasant Valley, Rock Creek, Seymour, Union, Washington, and Wheaton, and the unincorporated communities of Caryville, Cleghorn, Foster, and Mount Hope Corners. The district administers 12 elementary schools, one early learning center, 21 early learning community partner sites, three middle schools, two high schools, and two charter schools.

The district has an enrollment of approximately 11,300 and an annual budget of $130 million. The district's graduation rate was 86.3 percent during the 2011-2012 school year.

The first permanent European settlers arrived in Eau Claire in 1845. By the early 1850s, about 100 people called Eau Claire home. In 1856, a group of parents built the first public school in Eau Claire. Built out of rough boards, it was located on what is now Barstow Street. During the winter of 1856-57 the school was opened to the public, with John E. Stillman as the first teacher. Large numbers of German and Norwegian immigrants arrived in the 1860s.