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Top School Districts in the Greater Austin Area

by Pure Realty

Austin is known for having some of the best public schools in the state and many families are choosing to move to the Austin area because of this. But with over twenty districts and hundreds of schools in the Greater Austin area, it can be difficult to narrow down your search when looking for the school districts that are the best fit and can offer your children the very best education. We know that this is an important factor for families when deciding where to buy a home, so we did some research! Here’s a list of some of the top districts in the Austin area, based on data from both the 2017 Children at Risk Texas School Rankings and Niche.com’s 2017 Best School Districts in Texas ranking. After you read this article you can search for listings by school or school district on our website and find your perfect home near the perfect schools for the kiddos!

1. Eanes Independent School District

Eanes ISD serves the Westlake Hills, Lost Creek, and Rollingwood communities in West Austin. It’s smaller than many of the other area school districts with a total of nine schools including six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. This district is one of the highest ranking in not just the state, but the entire country, having ranked number two on Niche.com’s 2016 List of the Best School Districts in America. They received an ‘A plus’ rating for academics, health & safety, teachers, and resources & facilities! Eanes was also number one on a 2017 Niche.com list of the best school districts in Texas. Many schools within the district also ranked well individually on the 2017 Children at Risk school ranking. Barton Creek Elementary was ranked among the top ten elementary schools in the Austin area; Hill Country Middle and West Ridge Middle were among the top ten middle schools in the area; and Westlake High School has consistently ranked among the top ten high schools in the Austin area, even achieving the number one spot in 2016. The district offers great opportunities to students including a robotics program, gifted & talented program, health occupations courses, and a winning athletics department (Go Chaps!).

2. Round Rock Independent School District

Serving nearly 50,000 students in Round Rock and parts of Austin and Cedar Park with thirty three elementary schools, ten middle schools, and five high schools, Round Rock ISD is exponentially larger than Eanes, but the quality is not lost. Round Rock ISD is number twenty five on Niche’s 2017 Best School Districts in Texas list with an A for their overall grade and A pluses in the Academics, Diversity, and College Readiness categories. In addition, their schools make up the majority of the Children at Risk’s Top 10 Lists of elementary, middle, and high schools in the Austin area. The top three elementary schools on the list are all part of Round Rock ISD, with five more elementary schools from the district rounding out the top ten. Among middle schools Round Rock ISD also holds the top three spots in the Austin Area, and Westwood High School is number two among Austin area high schools. All of these schools also rank well at the state level. The district’s high schools have a strong focus on college and career readiness and many have academies in which students can specialize in areas that best suit their interests and talents.

3. Lake Travis Independent School District

Lake Travis ISD is another smaller district and contains nine schools covering nearly 200 square miles and serving four Northwest Austin suburbs – Lakeway, Bee Cave, Briarcliff, and The Hills. The district is similar to Eanes ISD, with the same number of elementary, middle, and high schools. The district has a District of Innovation designation which has allowed it to implement changes including new school hours. For the 2017-2018 school year the elementary school day will run from 7:40am until 2:55pm while the secondary school day will run from 8:50am until 4:05pm. This change is sure to make many parents and sleepy teenagers very happy! As far as rankings go, Lake Travis ISD comes in just behind Eanes at number ten on Niche’s 2017 Best School Districts in Texas List and also landed the number five spot on their 2017 list of the Safest School Districts in Texas. They also have one of the best high school football teams in the state, with Lake Travis High School earning numerous championship titles in the last decade!

4. Leander Independent School District

Leander ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state of Texas and is ranked number nineteen on Niche’s 2017 Best School Districts in Texas list and number three on their 2017 list of the best Austin area school districts. The lowest grade they received on their ‘report card’ from the website was a B+, my parents certainly would have been happy if I’d brought that report card home! The district serves nearly 40,000 students in a 200 mile area covering Leander and parts of Cedar Park, Austin, and Georgetown. The district contains forty two schools including twenty six elementary schools, eight middle schools, six high schools, and two alternative schools. From the primary to secondary levels Leander ISD schools have some great advanced placement programs to help students reach their full potential starting from a young age. Their college and career readiness program at the high school level does a great job of helping students prepare and plan for their future as well. They also have some excellent sports teams and a great band and choir at the high school level!

5. Austin Independent School District

Austin ISD was ranked pretty low on Niche’s 2017 Best School Districts in Texas list at #141, so you might be thinking, why are they on our list? Austin ISD is the fifth-largest district in Texas, serving over 80,000 students at 130 schools, and many of those schools are among the top rated in the state and even the country! Despite a low ranking, the district still received an overall grade of A- on Niche.com with A pluses in Diversity and College Readiness. Austin ISD struggles most at the middle school level according to studies done by Children at Risk, but they have some elementary schools and high schools that outrank even Eanes ISD schools. The Liberal Arts and Science Academy was ranked the number one public high school in the Austin area, number four in the state, and number twelve in the country by Children at Risk and Niche. Three other Austin ISD high schools made it into Children at Risk’s top five list of high schools in the Austin area as well. Austin ISD’s Clayton Elementary made Children at Risk’s top ten list of Austin area elementary schools. In addition, nine Austin ISD elementary schools were named gold ribbon schools, including Blackshear Elementary, the district’s first elementary fine arts academy. Austin ISD has made great strides to improve their school system and it has paid off, graduation rates have steadily increased and are currently at an all time high. The district now employs 261 National Board Certified Teachers, which is more than any other school district in the state. They also have an excellent college and career readiness program that starts in the student’s freshman year of high school. So, their overall ranking might be low, but Austin ISD schools should not be overlooked!