electric avenue

Amazon rolls out hundreds of new electric vans for Houston's holiday delivery season

Electric vans will now be delivering to Houston.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Amazon CEO/occasional space traveler Jeff Bezos is doing his best to supplant a certain jolly fellow from the North Pole as tops for holiday gift delivery.

His latest move: Amazon is rolling out more than 1,000 electric delivery vehicles, designed by electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, ready to make deliveries in more than 100 cities across the U.S. On the Texas good list: Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Bezos' juggernaut began deliveries in Dallas in July, along with Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis.

These zero-emissions vans have delivered more than 5 million packages to customers in the U.S., according to Amazon. The latest boost in vehicles now includes Houston and Austin; Boston; Denver; Indianapolis; Las Vegas; Madison, Wisconsin; Newark, New Jersey; New York, Oakland, California; Pittsburgh, Portland, Oregon; Provo, Utah; and Salt Lake City.

Plans for the Amazon and Rivian partnership call for thousands of vehicles on the road by the end of the year and 100,000 vehicles by 2030.

“We’re always excited for the holiday season, but making deliveries to customers across the country with our new zero-emission vehicles for the first time makes this year unique,” said Udit Madan, vice president of Amazon Transportation, in a statement. “We’ve already delivered over 5 million packages with our vehicles produced by Rivian, and this is still just the beginning—that figure will grow exponentially as we continue to make progress toward our 100,000-vehicle goal.”

This all comes as part of Amazon's commitment to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040, as a part of its The Climate Pledge; Amazon promises to eliminate millions of metric tons of carbon per year with it s commitment to 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030, press materials note.

Additionally, Amazon announced plans to invest more than €1 billion over the next five years to further electrify and decarbonize its transportation network across Europe. This investment is meant to spark innovation and encourage more public charging infrastructure across the continent.

“Fleet electrification is essential to reaching the world’s zero-emissions goal,” said Jiten Behl, chief growth officer at Rivian, in a statement. “So, to see our ramp up in production supporting Amazon’s rollout in cities across the country is amazing. Not just for the environment, but also for our teams working hard to get tens of thousands of electric delivery vehicles on the road. They continue to be motivated by our combined mission and the great feedback about the vehicle’s performance and quality.”

A little about the vans: Drivers’ favorite features include a spacious cabin and cargo area, superior visibility with a large windshield and 360-degree cameras, and ventilated seats for fast heating and cooling — a must for Bayou City summers ... or winters, for that matter.

quality education

This Houston K-8 school ranks No. 1 in Texas for 2027, per U.S. News

Spring Branch Academic Institute students

sbai.springbranchisd.com/

Spring Branch Academic Institute is the No. 1 best K-8 school in Texas, according to U.S. News.

U.S. News and World Report's new list of ranking the best K-8 schools in Texas for 2027 has hailed one Houston ISD school — Spring Branch Academic Institute — the No. 1 best elementary and middle school statewide.

In all, 12 Houston-area elementary and middle schools were named among the top 25 most brilliant beacons of Texas early education in U.S. News' annual Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings.

Over 70,000 public schools were analyzed on the state and district level using publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on students' proficiency in mathematics and reading while accounting "for student background and absolute performance on state assessments." To break ties in overall scores, schools with a lower student-teacher ratio prevailed.

"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth," said Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis. "This refined approach gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement, helping them identify standard-setting schools and support continued success for all students."

Spring Branch Academic Institute made its debut this year after being unranked last year. According to its U.S. News profile, the school has a 5 to 1 student-teacher ratio, and 100 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in both math and reading.

"Spring Branch Academic Institute did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," the profile said. "In Texas, 52 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 42 percent tested at or above that level for math."

SBAI and T. H. Rogers School in Houston ISD were the only two local schools that ranked among the statewide top 10 elementary schools for 2027. T. H. Rogers School ranked as the No. 4 best elementary school in Texas this year, up from its previous No. 13 rank last year, and it ranked No. 5 among the best Texas middle schools.

The other Houston-area schools that appeared among the top 25 best elementary schools in Texas include:

No. 14 – Creekside Forest Elementary, Tomball ISD (down from No. 7 last year)
No. 15 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD (up from No. 28 last year)
No. 19 – Stafford STEM Magnet Academy (down from No. 16 last year)
No. 21 – Commonwealth Elementary, Fort Bend ISD (down from No. 9 last year)

Among the best middle schools in Texas, two Houston schools ranked among the top 10: Cornerstone Academy in Spring Branch ISD (No. 7), which ranked six spots higher than it did the previous year, and Houston ISD's Briarmeadow Charter School (No. 10).

Five more Houston-area middle schools ranked among Texas' top 25 for 2027:

No. 13 – Fort Settlement Middle School, Fort Bend ISD (up from No. 20 last year)
No. 15 – Stafford STEM Magnet Academy (down from No. 12 last year)
No. 18 – Seven Lakes Junior High School, Katy ISD (up from No. 19 last year)
No. 19 – Beckendorff Junior High School, Katy ISD (up from No. 31 last year)
No. 24 – Memorial Middle School, Spring Branch ISD (up from No. 40 last year)

Three local schools that previously ranked in the top 25 last year but have since dropped in the 2027 rankings are: Houston ISD's Mandarin Immerson Magnet School (No. 30, down from No. 18); Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus (No. 70, down from No. 21); and Smith Middle School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (No. 53, down from No. 22).

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