Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD) established Early College High School in Fall 2007, creating the 3rd public high school (and the 1st specialized high school) in the city. It initially had a partnership with Texas State Technical College Harlingen (TSTC), which offered high school students the opportunity to complete an Associate's Degree or Certificate program at no cost. The ECHS students who successfully graduated from TSTC usually received an Associate of Science in Biology, a Certificate of Completion in the Academic Core Curriculum, or a Certificate of Completion in the Certified Nurse Assistant Program. The original ECHS campus is located on Pecan Street, across from the TSTC Harlingen campus and next to the TSTC on-campus dorms. Students would take high school classes at the ECHS campus and would walk across the street to take college classes at TSTC Harlingen.
Beginning in Fall 2017 (and on ECHS's 10 year anniversary), Early College High School ended their partnership with TSTC and entered into a new agreement with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Professors who offer in-person lectures commute to TSTC in Harlingen and utilize the University Center building to conduct classes. Students still walk across the street to attend those UTRGV classes. Students in the Class of 2019 were the first to graduate under the UTRGV program.
The Owl mascot was adopted in 2007. It follows the HCISD tradition of high school bird mascots, where the Owl was chosen specifically to symbolize ECHS's academic focus and mission. The mascot's illustration is an altered and recolored (retired) 1997 primary logo from Rice University. The primary color Black was chosen to represent the traditional color of graduation gowns, and the secondary color Khaki was inspired by the faculty's tendency to wear khaki colored slacks when representing ECHS at official HCISD functions. While Khaki is one of the official colors, Yellow and Gold is often substituted in its place for ECHS event decorations, printed banners and brochures, letterman jackets, and diplomas.
The first time ECHS had a full school of 4 classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) began in the academic school year of 2010-11, as the school did not accept student transfers planning to graduate in 2008, 2009, or 2010. The original four classes of ECHS students are the Classes of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. The first class to graduate from Harlingen Early College High School was the Class of 2011, and were therefore officially named the "Legacy Class" by the school district.
The first Pep Rally took place during the 2011-12 academic school year. Its focus was to get students excited for an upcoming robotics competition that the Harlingen ECHS Robotics club was participating in. The competition took place at TSTC Harlingen, where the ECHS Robotics team received 2nd place. The first Owl mascot costume was purchased later in 2014.
On April 2019, the ECHS Robotics team became the first high school in HCISD to advance to the FIRST Robotics World Championship competition hosted at Houston, Texas. Harlingen ECHS students were given the chance to compete with high school engineering and robotics teams from around the world after winning the Alamo West Regional Championship.
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