Home to roughly 18,000 residents, Bay City is located along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is an hour and a half south of Houston. Bay City is home to the Matagorda County Birding Nature Center, a 35-acre expanse of gardens and wildlife along the Colorado River of Texas. Other attractions include the Matagorda County Museum, Market Days every 3rd Saturday, and a variety of small shops and boutiques downtown. The Bay City Art League, also located here, has recently undergone major renovations and is currently working to revitalize the art scene in Matagorda County. In addition, the Bay City Community Theatre group (CAST) regularly produces shows at various local venues.
The Bay City Independent School District (BCISD) serves an average of 4,000 students through three elementary schools, a junior high and a state-of-the-art high school. Bay City schools offer a wide range of fine arts courses as well as career and technology education. In coordination with Wharton Junior College, the district offers AP/Dual Credit courses and a career and technology articulated curriculum. This articulation agreement lets our high school students earn credit for college majors while still in high school. Students can choose from 50 Career and Technology Education (CTE) courses in ten different Career Pathways: Agriculture; Health Science; Human Services; Hospitality and Tourism; Transportation; Distribution and Logistics; Manufacturing; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Architecture and Construction; Arts and Audio Visual Technology and Communications; and Business and Finance. Our younger students even have the opportunity to earn high school credits while in junior high.
Bay City is perfect for those of us who won't sacrifice our small town life for city traffic or crime, but who enjoy visiting a big city a few times a year. Bay City is only sixty minutes away from Houston, the largest city in Texas, with a myriad of world class art performances, professional sports games and medical facilities.
Houston is home to major symphony, ballet, opera and theater companies of worldwide acclaim and with a theater district that includes 17 blocks of performing arts venues. Families visiting the city will want to see the Museum of Natural Science, Contemporary Arts Museum, Children’s Museum of Houston, or Kipp Aquarium and Houston Zoo.
And for all the sports fans, professional sports teams include NFL football with Houston Texans, NBA basketball with the Houston Rockets, Major League Baseball with the Houston Astros and MLS soccer with the Houston Dynamo.
