Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Round Rock is a city about 15 miles north of Austin. The city is located in the Texas hill country, a beautiful place to live while commuting to the larger city. Round Rock has its own employers, though, with Dell and Farmers Insurance calling it home. The city has been recognized as one of the safest cities in the U.S. and for its park systems. The cost of living here remains one of the lowest in Texas, including utilities and taxes. The school district is another point of recognition, and Round Rock is consistently doing its best to improve.

The most recent ratings for the Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) show that the district as a whole received an acceptable rating from the Texas Education Agency. Twelve elementary schools received an exemplary rating, and not one in the district was deemed unacceptable. The reason for such success is not only following state criteria and educational guidelines, but by collecting data from every step in the education process. RRISD has an Assessment and Audit Department which collects data on every aspect, including safety, employment satisfaction and turnover rates, and operational efficiency. The reason for this department is to analyze and objectively focus on areas in need of improvement.

Round Rock schools have been recognized for multiple state awards. Several have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. As the city continues to grow, the district will continue to strive for excellence. Round Rock has made education one of the most important focuses of the city, and it is certainly worth it.

Round Rock, a suburb of Austin has been recently recognized by the University of Texas Center for Performance Excellence (UTCPE) for achievements in one of their schools and several departments. These awards are based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards program. The Baldrige criteria are used as a basis to determine continuing improvement. The program has been in effect since 1987, and thousands of organizations strive to receive this recognition.

The UTCPE formed in 2002 and since then has streamlined the Baldrige criteria into separate levels of achievement. Level 1 is first step, which the Canyon Vista Middle School has earned. The school is recognized as “beginning to adopt performance excellence principles.” Round Rock’s Independent School District Department of Continuing Education and the Department of Library Services also received Level 1 honors. The city’s Purchasing Department received Level 2 honors for “demonstrating the serious use and routine use and practice of performance excellence principals.” The highest achievement is Level 3, which means the organization has reached the full Baldrige criteria. The purpose of these criteria is to encourage improvement in educational standards.

The Texas Education Agency is responsible for rating school performance within the state. Several of Round Rock’s schools have received exemplary accountability standards. The district overall has received an acceptable rating for the most recent school year. The recognition by the UTCPE will help to encourage the district’s other schools to meet the same criteria. With the standards laid out, it is much easier for schools to create the means by which to reach improvement goals.

November 18th, 2007 9:40 PM

It’s pleasing to see that in these times of uncertain economic futures, that Austin is still vibrant and drawing people to it with its strong economy, job market, positive lifestyle and affordable cost of living. As a transplant myself, having lived in Connecticut for most of my life, I know what it’s like to live in a so-so place and then move to a place like Austin. Not to put down Connecticut, because it has its postives, but it’s nothing like Austin if you are under retirement age or less than affluent.

Austin sports some of the best weather, most affordable living, and most to do for those who have an interest in the outdoors, want to retire with a mind for making the most of their nest eggs, or have the desire for southern living in a progressive and diverse town.

I’m not much one for statistics, but below are some great details about Texas’ and Austin’s recent population growth! The snipet is from one of my favorite Austin Information sources, The Neal Spelce Letter (www.AustinLetter.com). If you don’t have a subscription, and you are interested in keeping abreast of the Austin events, I suggest you get a copy!

No matter where you go in urban and suburban Texas, it’s hard to get away from this growth (though we’ll mention some pockets of slow-and-no-growth in just a minute). If this trend from 2000 to 2006 continues, Texas is likely to add another 3.6 to 4.0 million people by 2010 – boosting its total population to more than 25 million, according to highly-regarded Steve Murdoch, who has made a career out of studying Texas population trends.

Austin’s population growth this century has been truly phenomenal. As an example, Dallas is the nation’s ninth largest city. Yet Austin added 18,600 people from 2005 to 2006 while Dallas added fewer – nearly 17,000. And Dallas was the eighth fastest-growing city in the nation.

Austin was the 6th fastest-growing city in the nation from 2005 to 2006 – by actual count, not by percentage (that favors smaller cities). This population explosion is happening all around us – in contrast to the rest of the nation. Texas had five of the ten cities with the largest numerical increases from 2005-2006. No other state had more than one.

In percentage terms, the nation’s fastest-growing place from 2000-2006 was in the Austin metro area – Hutto, in Williamson County, which grew by 666%! Also in the Austin metro, Kyle, in Hays County, was in 5th place, growing 289%.