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5 Austin-area high schools make the grade as best in Texas for 2021

These schools are at the top of the class.

Photo by skynesher/Getty Images

Five Austin-area schools are at the top of their class among public and private high schools in Texas.

New rankings from education website Niche put four Austin schools among the top 10 public high schools in the state. Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts & Science Academy ranks No. 2, followed by Westlake High School (Eanes ISD), No. 4; Westwood High School (Round Rock ISD), No. 8; and Vandegrift High School (Leander ISD), No. 10.

One Austin school appears on the list of Texas’ top private schools: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, at No. 5.

Niche ranks public high schools based on factors such as state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, and Niche user ratings.

Niche ranks private high schools based on factors like SAT/ACT scores, quality of colleges that students consider, student-teacher ratio, and Niche user ratings.

“Our 2022 rankings come at a time when so many parents are curious about the different options for their children’s education, including some they may never have considered before,” Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche, says in a news release.

Joining the Central Texas schools in the public high school category for Texas are:

First-ranked School for the Talented and Gifted (Dallas ISD).
Third-ranked School of Science and Engineering (Dallas ISD).
Fifth-ranked Carnegie Vanguard High School (Houston ISD).
Sixth-ranked DeBakey High School for Health Professions (Houston ISD).
Seventh-ranked Carroll Senior High School (Carroll ISD).
Ninth-ranked Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Houston ISD).

And representing the private high school category for Texas are:

First-ranked St. Mark’s School in Dallas.
Second-ranked St. John’s School in Houston.
Third-ranked Greenhill School in Addison.
Fourth-ranked The Hockaday School in Dallas.
Sixth-ranked The John Cooper School in The Woodlands.
Seventh-ranked The Awty International School in Houston.
Eighth-ranked Keystone School in San Antonio.
Ninth-ranked Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving.
10th-ranked The Kincaid School in Houston.

As for the best school districts in Texas, Eanes ISD grabs the No. 1 spot. Dallas-Fort Worth dominates the rest of the top 10:

Second-ranked South Texas ISD in Mercedes.
Third-ranked Highland Park ISD in Dallas.
Fourth-ranked Carroll ISD in Southlake.
Fifth-ranked Coppell ISD in Coppell.
Sixth-ranked Lovejoy ISD in Allen.
Seventh-ranked Frisco ISD in Frisco.
Eighth-ranked Argyle ISD in Argyle.
Ninth-ranked Grapevine-Colleyville ISD in Grapevine.
10th-ranked Allen ISD in Allen.

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welcome to texas

TikTok food critic Keith Lee has moved from Las Vegas to Texas

Keith Lee - Facebook

TikTok food critic Keith Lee is now a Texas resident.

Social media sensation and food reviewer Keith Lee has packed his bags and made the big move from Las Vegas to Texas.

The famous food critic "let the cat out of the bag" officially in a recent post on the social media platform TikTok, where he posts all of his restaurant reviews. But he'd already previously revealed that he and his wife, Ronnie, became homeowners in a different video posted in mid-October.

"Not only have those food reviews played a pivotal role in changing me and my family's life, over 150 families' lives across the nation in less than a year's time," Lee said in the video. "And on top of that, I just became the first person in an entire generation to own a house."

Though Lee didn't share which Texas city he and his family moved to, posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) tipped off that he'd moved to Dallas, while at the same time urging fans to give the guy some privacy.

"If you’ve met Keith Lee in Dallas recently don’t be weird and post what area," one X user wrote. "He’s still human & he’s new here. Let’s not ruin it."

Lee is no stranger to Dallas, after having spent a week in Dallas-Fort Worth in February 2024. He visited local restaurants like Brunchaholics, Thunderbird Pies, Halal Fuzionz, and more.

He also made a special visit to Taste Project in Fort Worth to donate $4,000 to support the nonprofit's mission to fight food insecurity.

In June, Lee swung back through Dallas to partner with Microsoft in a project called "The Reheat," to show how the tech company's AI products could help three Black-owned restaurants deal with business surges.

Most recently, Lee returned to Dallas to review the classic and buzzy food offerings at the Texas State Fair, such as a steak kabob, cotton candied bacon, turkey leg tacos, and much more. Maybe the State Fair is what clinched the win over Houston, which he visited in November 2023.

It doesn't look like Lee has reviewed many Austin restaurants, but he did review Terry Black's in Dallas. The barbecue restaurant is originally from Lockhart, just south of Austin. He visited because he says 10,000 people recommended it in a poll.

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