Austin Education: Smart Choices
Austin is a horizon-expanding city offering outstanding educational opportunities from kindergarten through Ph. D. studies and touted by Fortune magazine as one of the country's top five intellectual capitals. Perhaps the acclaim results from Austin's seven area institutions of higher education, including the state's flagship university, The University of Texas at Austin. Or perhaps it is because the last census revealed that 84 percent of Austin adults have a high school diploma, 37 percent have earned a bachelor's degree and 12 percent have earned graduate degrees. Austin enjoys a well-deserved national reputation for educational excellence.
Looking Back and Forward
If you're a parent who's highly involved
with your child's education, May probably
feels like a final sprint to the finish line of
yet another demanding school year. After
nine months of checking homework, attending
parent-teacher conferences and fretting
about-or celebrating-test scores and report
cards, you're happy that you and your child are
heading toward some high-quality "downtime".
While this is certainly true, it's also a
good time to take a close look at the individual
factors that have collectively impacted your
son or daughter's academic achievement
during the year. A realistic assessment can help
you determine if the summer months should
include extra work, and help you prepare for
the challenges your child will face in the
coming year. Here are some of the most important
indicators to review:
Choosing a School District
Choosing the best school district for a family does not have to be difficult-
if you know what you're looking for, if you keep in mind the needs
of your child or children and if you know the right questions to ask. What
Works, a booklet produced by the U.S. Department of Education, lists the
following as the most important characteristics of an effective school:
