A new corporate campus is coming to Westlake that will anchor a proposed mixed use development project on about 70 acres of land. The Charles Schwab Corporation is expanding its operations, bringing about 1,200 more jobs to Westlake’s growing daytime population.

Capital investment for the new corporate campus is projected to be about $100 million, and will include 500,000 square feet of commercial office space. Governor Greg Abbott today announced in a press statement that Schwab has been offered a $6 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant for the project, which will create the largest number of new jobs by a TEF grant recipient since the beginning of Governor Abbott’s administration. Additional incentives from the Town of Westlake are pending approval and will be up for consideration on an upcoming council agenda.

 Charles Schwab’s decision to expand its operations in North Texas is yet another testament to the Lone Star State’s promising economic climate, Governor Abbot said. “By expanding their facilities, pouring millions into the Texas economy and creating more than a thousand new jobs, Charles Schwab is investing in the North Texas community and bringing more opportunities for our world-class workforce.” 

Town Manager Tom Brymer said the decision by the Charles Schwab Corporation to locate in Westlake is one that will further expand Westlake’s reputation as the location of the financial industry cluster in the DFW metroplex. “They are a gold star company of the highest reputation,” Brymer said. “The Town welcomes them to Westlake and is pleased they have chosen Westlake as home for their next regional headquarters.”

“Westlake is delighted that Charles Schwab has selected this location for its new campus. Schwab has a long, strong and distinguished reputation in the financial services industry and joins other prestigious companies who call Westlake home,” Westlake Mayor Laura Wheat said. “The Charles Schwab Corporation is certain to be an integral piece of the financial services cluster that is coming together in Westlake and along the State Highway 114 Corridor. We welcome Schwab to Westlake and feel very fortunate to count them as our newest corporate citizen.” 

Schwab Executive Vice President Dennis Howard said the opportunity to expand in Texas is exciting. “We’ll be ramping up our recruiting efforts from among the great wealth of employee talent in and around Westlake.” 

The Charles Schwab Corporation is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 330 offices and 10.0 million active brokerage accounts, 1.6 million corporate retirement plan participants, 1.1 million banking accounts, and $2.62 trillion in client assets as of June 30, 2016. Schwab has earned extensive recognition as an employer of choice, having received multiple regional “Top Workplace” awards, the Gallup Great Workplace award for the past five consecutive years, a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index since 2004, and multiple awards celebrating the company’s military veteran-friendly workplace. 

Opening financial books to the public, providing clear and consistent pictures of spending, and sharing information with taxpayers in a user-friendly format are some of the reasons the Town of Westlake was one of the first four cities to recently earn the prestigious 2016 Texas Comptroller’s Transparency Star for Traditional Finances. Other inaugural municipalities receiving this award include the cities of Carrollton, Andrews, and Abernathy and others have now followed suit.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts originally launched the Leadership Circle Program to recognize local governments across Texas that strived to meet a high standard for financial transparency online. The Town of Westlake received this award in March 2014 and March 2015. However, in January the program was discontinued and replaced with the Transparency Stars Program, a more rigorous program recognizing local governments for going above and beyond in their transparency efforts.

The program recognizes government entities that not only open their books in traditional finances, but also in the areas of contracts and procurement, economic development, public pensions and debt obligations. Entities also must provide clear and meaningful financial information by posting financial documents with summaries, visualizations, and downloadable data.

Receiving this award aligns well with several of the Town’s value statements of being fiscally responsible and operating a transparent, integrity-driven government.

“The Town of Westlake strives to place an emphasis on transparency,” said Debbie Piper, director of finance. “It is our commitment that the Town of Westlake's financial information is readily accessible and available for our citizens.”

Westlake Academy honored four teachers this week for being finalists as Teacher of the Year during a special reception. Elizabeth Nairon, math teacher in the Middle Years Programme, took the honor as Westlake Academy’s third Teacher of the Year.

Nairon teaches Algebra at Westlake Academy and has been teaching math in the DFW area for 20 years. The other finalists included three teachers from the Primary Years Programme: Sarah Firsching, first grade teacher; Nicole Bauer, primary mathematics specialist and department head; and Laura Fischer, fourth grade teacher.

Westlake Academy has honored a Teacher of the Year since 2013. A selection committee coordinated by the Campus Leadership Team (CLT) selects the winner. The CLT is made up of students, teachers, administration, and community members from Westlake and Keller. After submissions to the team from parents, students, teachers and staff, the list was narrowed to the four nominees.

The selection committee, comprised of prominent academic, IB, corporate, and community leaders from around the country, scored the finalists using more than 30 characteristics constituting the Academy's Teacher of the Year rubric. The selection committee makes their decision based on several criteria including teaching 21st century skills, using new competencies graduates need, instilling International Baccalaureate (IB) values, classroom atmosphere, the culture of how a teacher insures students to be good learners, and knowledge the teacher has in their respective area of expertise.

Len Avecilla, CLT Chair, said Nairon achieved near-perfect scores in all five areas of performance.

“A few of the particularly notable high scores referenced exceptional attention to establishing a physical setting (learning environment) conducive to student engagement, excellence in leveraging all teaching and learning resources available to her, a high degree of commitment (to students, parents, and colleagues), and her intensity regarding her personal learning (professional development),” Avecilla said.

Nairon received a beautiful crystal award and certificate to remember this honor, along with a $1,500 cash award to use for personal or professional development from the academy’s parent-teacher organization, the WA House of Commons.

National data was recently released and the Town of Westlake and Westlake Academy is pleased to announce that Westlake Academy is once again ranked in U.S. News and World Report as one the best high schools for 2016, nationally ranked at No. 58, No. 9 in Texas and No. 17 in charter schools nationwide! And Westlake Academy continues to make The Washington Post Most Challenging High School list at No. 32 in the nation, rising four places for 2016! National rankings for Newsweek have not been released yet for 2016.

In addition, Westlake Academy students are excelling on state mandated assessments. The Texas Education Agency awarded Westlake Academy seven Academic Distinction Designations based upon Westlake Academy's 2014-2015 STAAR/EOC performance scores. Furthermore, Westlake Academy's 2015 Texas Performance Reporting System Report concluded that:

• 96 percent of WA students met state Level II Satisfactory performance standards on all tests taken 
• 98 percent of students met the state Level II Satisfactory performance standard in reading
• 94 percent of students met the standard in math
• 94 percent of students met the standard in writing
• 94 percent of students met the standard in science
• 99 percent  of students met the standard in social studies (humanities)

Mechelle Bryson, executive principal/director of education, said the high level of achievement recorded by Westlake Academy students on state-mandated assessments is indicative of the work that WA  teachers and administrators have done on aligning the written, taught and assessed curriculum over the past few years. She said the high achievement is also due to the work that Westlake Academy teachers and administrators have done on improving the collective instructional pedagogy of each member of the Westlake Academy staff.

“Our greater aim has been to build a school culture where educators use data continuously, collaboratively and effectively to improve teaching and learning,” Bryson said.

The executive principal/director of education said this “work in progress” on the Westlake Academy School culture shows the Academy is rapidly approaching what Malcolm Gladwell, speaker/bestselling author, described as the "Tipping Point ... that magic moment when an idea, order trend or social behavior crosses the threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire."

“We will achieve that tipping point and continue to permeate our school culture with teaching and learning that always improves and expands,” Bryson said. “We will become the best place for teachers to teach and for students to learn.”

Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and the Institute for Productivity in Education (IPE)  has selected Westlake Academy as one of 713 public schools in Texas to receive the title of 2015 Honor Roll school.  

The Honor Roll is part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and highlight successful practices that improve outcomes for students. Schools receiving this distinction from leaders in the Texas academic and business communities have demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time and reduction in achievement gaps among student populations.  For High Schools, the Honor Roll recognition also includes measures of college readiness. The Honor Roll is comprised of two different awards, the “Star Schools” Award and “Scholar Schools” Award. 

Star Schools have significant populations of socio-economically disadvantaged students that have shown a significant increase in grade-level proficiency over time. Scholar Schools are schools that are showing significant levels of academic achievement, but do not have a significant socio-economically disadvantaged student population. 

“Westlake Academy is honored to be recognized as a high performing Scholar School," said Dr. Mechelle Bryson, executive principal/director of education. “We are proud of the outstanding dedication and commitment of our educators in preparing students to meet the challenges of competing in a global marketplace.” 

Bryson said Westlake Academy staff is especially proud of its students and their commitment to the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework and learner profile. “The gift of an IB World Education is invaluable and prepares our students for the demands of the world in which they live, tweet and post.” 

Westlake Academy Superintendent Tom Brymer said teachers and administrators work tirelessly to keep the focus on high expectations and student academic achievement, continuously improving our practices. “Their hard work and dedication is paying off for all of our students,” he said. 

Jim Lanich, ERP president and CEO, said students are achieving at higher levels and more students than ever are succeeding when given the opportunity. “The American education system has a secret. Many schools are doing well … the Honor Roll proves it.” 

The annual Honor Roll award is made possible by support from numerous businesses and organizations including State Farm, AAA, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the and several private foundations.  Chevron Corporation provided specific support in the creation of the STEM Honor Roll. A full list of the Honor Roll schools can be found here.