The Austin area has nearly 200 child care facilities. Each one offers a unique experience for your child, but before you select one, consider these fact-finding actions:

• Look at all your options—nonprofit, church and other community child care centers, private centers, and company-sponsored child care

• Schedule a first visit

• Make an unannounced second visit

• Ask for names and phone numbers of other parents; call them and ask candid questions

• Check safety issues: cleanliness, cleaning supplies and utensils out of reach, furniture and toys in good shape, preparedness for emergencies, current medical record of all children

• Check staff qualifications and turnover

Make sure the facility is licensed by the state by calling the Texas Department of Protective & Regulatory Services at 834-0162

Extend-a-Care offers information on after school child care at 56 area elementary schools: 472-9402

Source: Southwestern Bell consumer information

 

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K-12 School District Websites

• Austin Independent School District

• Bastrop Independent School District

• Leander Independent School District

• Pflugerville Independent School District

• Round Rock Independent School District

• San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District

 College and University Websites

• Austin Community College

• Concordia University

• Huston-Tillotson College – HBCU and oldest university in Austin

• Southwestern University in Georgetown

• St. Edward's University

• Texas State University San Marcos

• University  of Texas at Austin

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Largest Private Employers

1. 16,500 · Dell Inc.
2. 8,000 ·  Motorola Inc.
3. 7,800 · Seton Medical Center
4. 7,000 · H-E-B Grocery Stores
5. 6,400 · IBM Corp.
6. 3,000 · Advanced Micro Devices

Largest Public Employers
1. 69,700 · The State of Texas
2. 22,249 · UT Austin
3. 12,474 · City of Austin
4. 10,759 · Austin Independent School District
5. 5,000 · IRS - Austin Service Center
6. 4,600 · Austin Community College
7. 4,040 · Travis County

Numbers current as of May 2003

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Climate
Austin's weather has attracted so many to this attractive part of Texas, where the skies are always blue, the breeze is always fresh and cool, and the sun beams prettily from on high.

OK, it can get hot and humid in the summer with our tropical climate, but Central Texas is renowned for the maxim: "Don't like the weather? Just wait ten minutes!" Relief can be just a summer thunderstorm — which can crop up in an instant — away. Nights in summer usually offer pleasant relief from the hot summer days.

In the winter, Blue Northers — arctic air billowing down unimpeded by the prairie — can drop a thermometer 30 degrees in minutes. But winters are generally mild, with below-freezing temperatures occurring on an average of less than 25 days each year. Cold spells are usually of short duration, rarely lasting more than two days.

Austin averages 300 days of sunshine each year and about 33.78 inches of rainfall.  It rarely snows in Austin.

Source: Greater Austin Chamber Web site