Rockwall one of 10 best in America It took a national magazine to reveal what Rockwall residents have always known – Rockwall is a great town for families. In fact, it’s number one in Texas and one of the 10 best in America according to Family Circle magazine. Available on newsstands July 7, the August issue of the magazine rates Rockwall and nine other U.S. cities as the perfect places to call home, citing: good neighbors, A+ public school systems, affordable housing and green spaces. Additional criteria for the data-driven survey included financial stability, low crime rates and access to health care. The article describes Rockwall as a lakeside Dallas suburb and one of the fastest growing communities in Texas. It notes that Rockwall was the first school district in the nation to adopt Rachel’s challenge, a K-12 education program encouraging kids to perform random acts of kindness. Interviewing several families in the selected cities to confirm research data and for other information, the Terry Crabtree family was used as an example of a normal Rockwall family in the article. Family Circle is one of the most widely read monthly magazines in the world with a circulation of 3.8 million and 21 million readers. Information for their annual listing of perfect places to call home were compiled by Onboard Infomatics research firm in New York City from a list of 1,700 cities and towns with populations between 15,000 and 150,000. The list was then reduced to 800. Family Circle selected which places best fit their family-friendly criteria and the final 10 were ranked from top to bottom. The magazine focused on schools for this year’s top family-friendly towns. Greatschools.net, a nonprofit website provided Family Circle with the public school ratings used in the town rankings. According to a press release, each town honored is made up of forward thinking parents, teachers and students who are: passionate about their hometown; dedicated to bettering their children’s futures; and involved in advancing their local school systems as exemplified by the implementation of such programs as partnering with private medical groups to ensure treatment for students without health insurance and integrating dual language classes in grade school. The other nine cities were: Evans, Ga. Sherwood, Ore. Indian Trail, N.C. Edina, Minn. Noblesville, Ind. Perrysburg, Ohio Hendersonville, Tenn. Kenmore, Wash. Sun Prairie, Wis. |