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Posted on Jun 25, 2010 | Tagged in: West Ranch , honors , education
The Friendswood Independent School District is again earning attention for its outstanding schools with the most recent focus on Friendswood High School, just ranked among Newsweek magazine’s list of America’s Best High Schools 2010.
Newsweek selects the best high schools in the country each year, based on the hard work of school staffs and their challenge to students with advanced placement college level course and tests. This year, just over 1,600 schools – only 6 percent of all public schools in the United States made the list.
Friendswood High School was developing its AP program less than 10 years ago, and today, according to the magazine, the percentage of students enrolled in the AP courses compared to the number of seniors, earned the school its coveted ranking.
The Friendswood Independent School District reports that what Newsweek did not measure that is equally important, is how well students perform on the exams.
An impressive 77.4 percent of the total of Friendswood High School AP test takers (831) earned a 3 or better on the AP exams, thus qualifying to place out of college level classes.
Posted on Oct 6, 2009 | Tagged in: Houston , honors , charity
The Salvation Army has done a great service to Houston, and this time television icon/economist Ben Stein will be doing something for them. Stein will be the keynote speaker for The Salvation Army during the Greater Houston Area Command Annual Luncheon Fundraiser.
The event will be held at the Hilton-Americas Hotel in Houston on November 3rd, where he will be delivering his own brand of humor along with his words of wisdom. Luncheon chairs Jim P. and Jane Wise will honor William T. Slick Jr. as the 2009 Honoree for his leadership, volunteerism, and loyal support as a life member of the Salvation Army.
"We are excited to have Ben Stein as the guest speaker for the 2009 Salvation Army of Houston Annual Luncheon. Mr. Stein’s national reputation and relaxed and funny style will be stimulating and fun for all who attend the luncheon," according to the Wises.
Best known for his role in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the game show "Win Ben Stein's Money", Stein has also earned his reputation as an economist, a best selling author, and a former columnist for the New York Times.
Posted on Sep 15, 2009 | Tagged in: honors , GHBA
Each year, the Greater Houston Builders Association recognizes industry members for their outstanding contributions to the design and development of new homes and communities at an awards ceremony that was renamed this year to Houston’s Best (formerly the PRISM awards).
This year, once again, Friendswood Development Company was honored for its innovative efforts in reaching new-home buyers and Realtors who work with buyers in their search for a new home.
Friendswood Development Company was awarded Best Website by a Developer and Best Internet Marketing Campaign by a Developer for the creative new websites and promotions implemented into FriendswoodDevelopment.com and websites for each of our communities.
“Consumers spend a lot of time on the Internet before they ever get in the car to start their new home search. Understanding this, Friendswood Development Company has made their websites and online presence top priority and it’s the main focus of their advertising campaign,” said Cheryl Perry of Boe Creative Services, Friendswood Development Company’s advertising agency. “This award comes at a time when everyone in the residential real estate industry understands the importance of a great website, so the competition was very strong.”
Posted on Jul 13, 2009 | Tagged in: West Ranch , honors , City of Friendswood
Friendswood, Texas has once again been recognized nationally as one of America’s best places to live. The new issue of
Money magazine cites America’s top 100 best small towns, which were judged by readers in terms of a solid job base, affordable housing, great schools, and area attractions.
Friendswood, home of the new master-planned West Ranch community, was ranked No. 32 on the magazine’s list of the top 100 Best Small Towns. The magazine cites, “Friendswood was founded by Quakers and remains dry, but that doesn't mean its residents don't know how to have fun. The community hosts frequent parades, summer concerts in Stevenson Park, and an opening ceremony for the baseball season. Residents can travel north to Houston, south to the Galveston beaches, or east to the Kemah boardwalk; all are less than an hour away.”
The Friendswood Independent School District, known for its exemplary rating by the Texas Education Agency and the outstanding achievements of its students and teachers, has even more reason to be proud. Two Friendswood High School students are among eight chosen musical scholars around the Greater Houston area to participate at the Houston Grand Opera's High School Voice Studio.
Friendswood’s Eizabeth Conger and Catherine Goode will receive voice lessons from the Houston Grand Opera staff, prepare for college auditions and receive a stipend to assist with those auditions.
The coveted Houston Grand Opera Vocal Training Program for High School Students is a sought-after program and an honor for the students who are selected.
Posted on Apr 27, 2009 | Tagged in: Houston , honors , economy
The National Association of Realtors® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have named Houston a 2009 Ambassador City for its Houston HOPE Homes program, an initiative to reinvest in some of Houston’s historic neighborhoods with housing development and infrastructure improvements.
The Houston HOPE Homes is a program of the city of Houston. The city has identified hundreds of vacant or foreclosed properties in nine historic neighborhoods that are currently undergoing revitalization. Those properties are sold to area home builders who are committed to building quality, affordable single and multifamily housing.
To help residents purchase the newly built homes, the city has also established a down payment assistance program. Low- and moderate-income individuals who qualify can receive up to $37,500; Houston police officers, firefighters, and teachers can qualify for nearly $40,000.
Posted on Apr 23, 2009 | Tagged in: travel , Houston , honors
In a recent survey released by U-Haul International, Inc., Houston is a place to which people want to move. In fact, Houston ranked No. 2 among most popular destinations.
The annual U-Haul National Migration Trend Report, titled "The 2008 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities" was released and it gleans some interesting movement around the country. According to moving data reflective of nationwide statistics for calendar year 2008, Atlanta secures the No. 1 spot for the second year in a row, while Houston comes in second, moving up six spots from the 2007 report.
Los Angeles climbed to No. 3 from No. 13 last year, while Las Vegas stayed steady at No. 4 for the second year in a row, and Denver, Colo. moved up to fifth place from the No. 9 rank last year. Portland, Ore.; Chicago, San Antonio, Austin, Texas and Orlando, Fla. rounded out the top 10.
The ranking reflects destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles, and considers every city in the country, regardless of size. However, the data is not stated as a percentage of population and is not reflective of overall growth. Houston's diverse economic and job base, housing affordability and wide variety of appealing locations continues to make Houston outshine the rest of the country.
The survey reports: *Data compiled from more than 1 million U-Haul one-way truck transactions from January - December 2008.
Posted on Mar 18, 2009 | Tagged in: honors , economy , City of Friendswood
Business Week magazine has named Friendswood the Best Affordable Suburb in Texas for 2009.
Cities taken into consideration had to be within 25 miles of the most populated city in their state and have populations of 5,000 to 60,000 people, low crime rates and median family incomes of $51,000 to $120,000.
Other factors included commutes, education (test scores), crime, economy (job growth and income), green living and overall affordability.
City Manager Roger Roecker said that when people factor in the 20 percent homestead exemption and compare tax rates, they will understand why Friendswood is more affordable than other areas. He also said that tax rates remain low, the police department is one of the finest and the Friendswood citizenry is well educated.
In the heart of the city of Friendswood is the new Friendswood Development Company community of West Ranch, where new homes by top Houston builders are priced from the $300,000s.
