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A library in Caldwell has become a beacon of hope for adults looking to get their GED or further their education — and volunteers are helping make that possible. The Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch has the story.
A look back at major developments in the business world this year and how they’re shaping the Austin area.
A Minnesota-based program that creates music inspired by stories of children in need worked with a 9-year-old Austin boy with a fatal genetic disorder on a piece that was performed by the Austin Children’s Choir.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Syeda Carillo [00:00:10] A library in Caldwell has become a beacon of hope for adults looking to get their GED or further their education. And volunteers are helping make that possible. More on that story from the Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch. And a look back at major developments in the business world this year and how they’re shaping the Austin area.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:30] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Syeda Carrillo.
Syeda Carillo [00:00:35] A Minnesota-based program is creating music inspired by the stories of children in need. They worked with a 9-year-old Austin boy with a fatal genetic disorder to write a piece that was performed by the Austin Children’s Choir. That and much more coming up today on Austin Signal. Hey there, Austin! It’s Tuesday, December 23rd, Christmas Eve Eve, as you might call it. I’m Syeda Carrillo. This is Austin Signal. Adult education programs were in limbo over the summer, uncertain about the status of federal funding. The government did eventually distribute the money, but many program coordinators are worried they won’t be supported next year. If federal funding for adult education does go away or get reduced. The Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch reports a small library in the Bryan College station area could be a blueprint for how to start a program with little money and a lot of volunteer power.
Sarah Asch [00:01:50] Walking into the Harry P. Woodson Memorial Library in Caldwell after hours on a weekday, it certainly does not sound like the building is closed. Small groups of students meeting clusters with their instructors. Sarah Hillhouse will be the first to tell you, it gets loud sometimes. Her out. Hill House is in the evening GED class. She was homeschooled in the 90s and never received a state-recognized diploma.
Sarah Hillhouse [00:02:17] I wanted to do something that was just for me, and so I decided I was going to go back to school and I was gonna get my GED.
Sarah Asch [00:02:24] The library offers an array of adult ed classes, not only GED prep, but also English language instruction and computer courses. Many of the classes are run by volunteer teachers with donated materials. It’s a model library director Heidi Frazier says may become more appealing as communities try to figure out how to keep adult ed services available in a time of increasing uncertainty over federal funding. Frazier launched the program in 2021 when she decided Burleson County needed a place where adults could gain literacy skills.
Heidi Frazier [00:02:52] We’re in a library, why isn’t there a literacy program? And one day, honestly, like days after that, this man came in with his wife and said, is there somebody who can teach my wife to read? And I said, well, of course, we have a literacy program, I’ll teach her myself.
Sarah Asch [00:03:07] The program originally paired students with volunteer reading tutors, but Frazier quickly wanted to expand. She looked for places in town that held GED and ESL classes in the hopes of forming a coalition.
Heidi Frazier [00:03:17] It was during COVID. And I found out that the GED program that had been here was gone. And the ESL program that has been here was gone.”
Sarah Asch [00:03:25] Caldwell is a town of about 4,000 residents, 30 minutes west of College Station. Frazier knew there was a need, so she approached the Brazos Valley Council of Governments. It turns out they were looking for a new location to hold adult education classes.
Heidi Frazier [00:03:38] And literally within two weeks we went with nothing to almost everything.
Sarah Asch [00:03:42] The council-funded classes are offered through the Region 6 Education Service Center, one of 20 such service centers established by the state of Texas to improve educational outcomes. But Frazier says she didn’t want to just lend out the library space and walk away.
Heidi Frazier [00:03:55] We really want to be here for the students. So we started working together, like really together.
Sarah Asch [00:04:02] The library also launched their own classes on top of Region 6’s offerings.
Heidi Frazier [00:04:06] In my mind, it’s a perfect marriage.
Sarah Asch [00:04:08] So when Region 6 decided this fall that they could only offer one GED course and no ESL classes because of that uncertainty over federal funding, library volunteers were able to take on the rest of the classes, and students kept learning uninterrupted.
Heidi Frazier [00:04:20] We had built up so much volunteer support, now we were able to stay afloat without them.
Sarah Asch [00:04:26] Among these volunteers are Don and Carol Albrecht, who teach the pre-GED class. Both are retired professors at nearby Texas A&M.
Don and Carol Albrecht [00:04:33] Neighborhood, okay. Motherhood. Motherhood, parenthood. Childhood, childhood, all of those are a state of being.
Sarah Asch [00:04:40] Carol Albrecht said, it’s refreshing to work with students who are motivated and engaged, which was not always the case when she taught college level statistics.
Don and Carol Albrecht [00:04:47] This is something that they want to do. What they lack is confidence. We’ve found that over and over again. So we tell them all the time, you can do this, and it does make a difference if people believe that they can accomplish things.
Sarah Asch [00:05:00] She said working with adult education students reminds her of the old adage, give someone a fish and they eat for a day. Teach someone to fish and eat for lifetime.
Don and Carol Albrecht [00:05:08] This is teaching them to fish, teaching them how to learn, teach them how progress and to reach their goals in life.
Sarah Asch [00:05:17] Volunteer power helps minimize the cost of adult education programming at the Harry P. Woodson Memorial Library. But one expense the library has taken on is the hiring of a full-time adult basic education coordinator. Paris Chandler started in this role in April. He is also employed part-time by Region 6 to teach their remaining GED class.
Paris Chandler [00:05:34] Even if I wasn’t the GED teacher, I would still be the adult basic education coordinator working with all of the students keeping up on their progress, helping them decide which way that they’re going with their learning or where they want to go after their learning. So, on this can, these are the two parts that have the identical thing, similar to a cereal box. The top flap and the bottom flap match, just like the two sides.
Sarah Asch [00:05:59] This library is not the only one expanding its adult education programming. The American Library Association launched a program this year to help eight libraries across the country meet community literacy needs. Aubrey Huff is the Association’s Assistant Director of Literacy and Continuing Education.
Aubrey Huff [00:06:14] A lot of people understand libraries as silly places that house books, but really they provide so much diversity of services. They’re really these community centers that provide opportunities to everyone regardless of your background.
Sarah Asch [00:06:29] Huff says adult literacy is one of the most important services that libraries can offer to help people move up in the world.
Aubrey Huff [00:06:34] Libraries are one of the few places left that are universally accessible. They are stigma free. So when libraries take on literacy, they’re not just offering classes. They’re really there to strengthen communities and improve that workforce readiness.
Sarah Asch [00:06:50] Caldwell Library Director Heidi Frazier says their program’s growth has helped strengthen the library’s position in town.
Heidi Frazier [00:06:56] I think it’s the future success for libraries is to bring literacy into the building.
Sarah Asch [00:07:00] Sarah Hillhouse is still preparing to take the first of four GED exams. Until she completes her degree, she will be in class twice a week.
Sarah Hillhouse [00:07:08] This is huge for me and it’s going to be big for other people too. We’ve had a lot of people graduate from this class. We’re doing something right here, you know, in this little town.
Sarah Asch [00:07:17] A small plaque in the library’s computer lab lists the names of all of those graduated students. Someday soon, Hill House hopes her name will be on it. In Caldwell, I’m Sarah Asch for the Texas Standard.
Syeda Carillo [00:07:34] This past year for business here in Central Texas has been one for the books. To break that down for the Austin Signal, host Miles Bloxson sat down with Justin Sayers, a senior staff writer at the Austin Business Journal.
Miles Bloxson [00:07:47] I know summing up the past year is a big task and probably a lot to take in, but how do you make sense of the year we just had in Central Texas business?
Justin Sayers [00:07:56] Yeah. So I’ll start with a little bit of recency bias. You know, I’ve been here about five years. When I got here, it was the height of the pandemic and announcements like Tesla and Samsung that, you know, we’re making worldwide headlines. And it’s been a little slower since then. But since October, it’s starting to feel like 2021 again. You know, We’re having these big announcements of manufacturers setting up in Williamson County and other big companies coming here. And, you know we’re really seeing no signs of slowing down.
Miles Bloxson [00:08:26] Wow. So more like 2021. What do you mean by that?
Justin Sayers [00:08:30] Yeah, so we’ve had, you know, companies like, uh, Taiwanese companies, Compal Electronics and Pegatron set up in Georgetown and Taylor. Uh, a big semiconductor supplier has an office in Hutto and, you know, these are creating hundreds of jobs on each project. And again, you, feeling like the height of one Tesla and Samsung moved here and, and starting to see that fallout impact.
Miles Bloxson [00:08:53] That’s incredible. What were some of the big trends that you saw this year in business?
Justin Sayers [00:08:57] Yeah, I think the big thing in our world is the data center boom. As someone who covers primarily the suburbs, I’ve been tracking data center projects, and we’ve found nearly 25 projects over the last few years, particularly in the suburbs. Particularly north of Austin. There’s been a lot of focus on that, but cities love them because they help the tax rolls, and residents don’t really love them, because of concerns about water and power.
Miles Bloxson [00:09:26] For those who don’t know, what does data center boom mean?
Justin Sayers [00:09:29] So yeah, data center, you know, it’s AI, the cloud, but it’s really more your phone and storing photos and stuff like that rather than the artificial intelligence boom. But companies need more space to have operations to do that. And Austin is one of the targets. It’s one of the fastest growing data center cities and regions. And the reason for that is just a lot of available land, cities that in general, you tend to be okay with these projects coming. And then also access to power, especially on the outskirts of Austin, is a big selling point. So, you know, again, those 25 projects, they’re everywhere from Milam County to Georgetown to Round Rock, all the way down to San Marcos, Hayes County, Bastrop County. It’s really anywhere they can find that space and that support.
Miles Bloxson [00:10:17] And you mentioned a lot of available land. I’m seeing a lot of buildings that are still empty, you know, so maybe buildings as well, right?
Justin Sayers [00:10:24] Yeah, so that’s a great point. Another big trend that we’ve seen this year is industrial space. Our vacancy during the third quarter of this year was the highest it’s been ever in our market’s history. But again, since October 1st and that fourth quarter started, we’re starting to see these big projects eat up that space. Things are not as optimistic on the office end. Austin still has some of the highest vacancies in terms of office space. There is still demand there, you know, we hear of companies that are looking around. We wrote about Nvidia, which is the largest company in the world right now, taking large office space in both Cedar Park and near the domain. So there are still, you, know, companies that are looking to locate here. It’s just when Austin boomed, developers came in, built a bunch of office space, industrial space, and it’s taken a while to fill that.
Miles Bloxson [00:11:14] And were there any stories that really stood out to you this year?
Justin Sayers [00:11:17] That’s a great question. I think one really interesting thing again, as someone who covers the suburbs, is the population boom happened so fast.
Miles Bloxson [00:11:26] Right.
Justin Sayers [00:11:27] That now we’re starting to get a little more maturity in that area where you need the restaurants, you need to retail, you need other stuff where people don’t really want to drive to Austin all the time. So that’s really starting to take shape and cities are really, especially ones on the outskirts are really trying to focus on their downtown areas and preservation versus knocking down things and building hires. So… If you go, you know, road trip to Georgetown or Lockhart or even Hutto, you know, they’re starting to have these really developing out downtowns and, you know, their fun, they are full of local businesses and it’s really interesting to see.
Miles Bloxson [00:12:05] Which is crazy for me because I am a native Austinite, so all the small towns outside of Austin would always come into Austin to do a lot of their shopping.
Justin Sayers [00:12:14] For sure yeah and another thing on that end like austin has one of the tightest retail markets in the country 97 occupancy rates so you know there’s a need for retail and you know people are looking to spend their money you know shops restaurants and looking for things to do all the time.
Miles Bloxson [00:12:30] It’s a dangerous game for me over here, but yes, that’s great for us. And before I let you go looking ahead, what should people be keeping an eye out for ahead in 2026?
Justin Sayers [00:12:40] Again, maybe a little bit of recency bias, but these companies that are looking around, again, we just had a story published about Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which is a space company, is actually looking around the area for space for a $1 billion project that would create 2,200 jobs. So there’s these big companies and big names, Larry Ellison’s agriculture technology company just set up in Lockhart, and Elon Musk and all his companies. So. You have billionaires that are really circling in on Austin right now and, you know, trying to find space for their companies because they want to be here.
Miles Bloxson [00:13:16] Three billionaires, all in the top five, I believe, on the Forbes list, which is crazy.
Justin Sayers [00:13:20] Yes, and that’s just the start of it.
Miles Bloxson [00:13:22] It’s gonna get crazier. We’ve been speaking with Justin Sayers senior staff writer at the Austin Business Journal, Justin Thank you so much for spending time with us here at Austin signal
Justin Sayers [00:13:31] Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Syeda Carillo [00:13:35] We’ve got more Austin Signal coming your way. Stay with us.
KUT Announcer: Jake Perlman [00:13:59] Support for KUT’s Austin Signal comes from Dr. Emmanuel Lee and Concierge Health of Austin, offering comprehensive primary care, in-house diagnostics, and an emphasis on long-term health management. More at conciergehealthaustin.com.
Marc Fort [00:14:24] You’re listening to Austin Signal. What’s up, all you kooky kiddies? My name is Marc Fort. I’m one of your friendly neighborhood KUTX hosts. My favorite song from an Austin artist released in 2025 is Bravo by Adrienne Quesada and Ile
Ile [00:14:47] Bravo!
Marc Fort [00:14:48] Adrian Casada has to be one of the hardest working people in the music business. His discography reads like the work of 10 people. Bloody hell, no, 20 people! Working with Prince, to his breakout band, Black Pumas, to producing other artists, whatever genre Adrian decides to work in, whatever he’s curious about, he always brings deep soul and fresh ideas. And this single from his Poleros, Psychedelicos 2 album. I love the opening horn notes. I love that 808 like hip hop low end beats. Quesada and E-Lay collabing together with old forms and new hotness creating something entirely fresh and unique, a psychedelic mod, Cuban Bolero in 2025. Yes, yes, and yes. This song is straight Cuban psychedelic soul.
Ile [00:15:49] Que después que te mueras
Marc Fort [00:15:53] Now, I’ve DJ’d this song while spending time in Osaka and in Kyoto, and I’ve deejayed this song in Lockhart in Austin. And I’m telling you, wherever you are, when the sun goes down, this song just hits people different. My name is Mark Fort. I’m a host at KUTX, and you can learn about all of our favorite songs from 2025 at Kutx.org. Is Austin City.
Ile [00:16:24] Me odio tanto, que yo misma me espanto De mi forma de odiar
Syeda Carillo [00:16:37] A Minnesota-based program creates music inspired by the stories of children in need. They heard about a nine-year-old Austin boy with a fatal genetic disorder and reached out to his family. He and his mom wrote a piece that was recently performed by the Austin Children’s Choir. Michelle Dahlenburg went to the concert.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:17:01] I’m in the sanctuary at Hillcrest Church on the north side of Austin, watching the Austin Children’s Choir rehearse for their upcoming concert.
Austin Children’s Choir [00:17:09] During time in Texas, our friends, our boy, he makes my day.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:17:20] Artistic director Don Shaeffer has led the group for the past three years.
Don Shaeffer [00:17:25] We’ve been really fortunate to have kids from a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different cultures with all varying abilities. All of them come here to sing. This concert is special. It features
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:17:37] the world premiere of Simon Sings, a choral work composed specifically for the choir by local composer Nicolas Jimenez. The piece was created through Sing Me a Story, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that works with songwriters to turn the original stories of kids in need into songs. Simon Sins is based on a story written by Simon and his mother, Alina Gorniak, who live in Austin with Simon’s father, Jeremy Croke.
Alina Gorniak [00:18:05] We’re going on a bear hunt. We’re gonna catch a big one. My name’s Alina. I am Simon’s mama. Who, babe? Simon is a beautiful nine-year-old boy who has an amazing smile and exudes such positive energy. He’s such a bright light. But he was unfortunately born with San Filippo Syndrome and it’s a fatal, rare, neurodegenerative genetic condition. Kids with this condition unfortunately pass away as children, so they don’t make it the second decade of life. It’s likened to Alzheimer’s, dementia, but in children.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:18:52] Autumn Rosado from the Sing Me a Story Foundation found out about their story from a news article and reached out. Because of Simon’s neurodegeneration, Gorniak didn’t know how he would be able to write a story.
Alina Gorniak [00:19:04] And she said, yes, but can he make- choices.” And I said, yes, you’re right. Yes, he can absolutely make choices. And then it dawned on me, mama’s gonna create this like a Mad Libs story.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:19:16] She created the skeleton of the story from Simon’s perspective to get across how a child might be confused about the losses they’re having in their abilities due to Sanfilippo syndrome.
Alina [00:19:25] Who is that? It’s one of our good friends, and her name is Beb-Beb-Bep-Beck.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:19:32] She used pictures to give Simon options of things she knew he loved, and he responded verbally or by pointing.
Alina Gorniak [00:19:40] What season is it? Is it fall or is it spring? And he would pick and I’d say, okay, is it raining or is
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:19:50] The story is a mystery. Simon’s best friends, Betsy, Joey, and Fox, help him figure out who’s slowly stealing his skills, like playing basketball, running, and singing. It turns out that they’ve been stolen by a sloth named San, Filippo. How did you feel when you first read Simon’s story?
Nicolas Jimenez [00:20:10] I was very affected by it. I don’t think I’ve ever been affected by something in that way, actually.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:20:18] That’s Nicolas Jimenez, the composer chosen to adapt the story into a choral piece.
Nicolas Jimenez [00:20:23] I think just mainly realizing that I was responsible in some way for ensuring that his story was shown. It definitely was a big weight, but it also was very expanding, like spiritually. He was very, very profound.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:20:44] Jiménez chose a combination of choral music and written dialog for the piece.
Julia Doherty [00:20:48] I overheard you guys are looking for who took Simon’s heels.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:20:51] When choir member Julia Doherty first heard about Simon’s story, she felt sad for him and his family. It hit home that she’s nine years old too.
Julia Doherty [00:21:00] When Ms. Schaeffer said we can sing this song, I was happy because I like singing and I also want to make him feel happy.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:21:08] It’s the day of the concert. Simon and his parents sit right in the front row.
Austin Children’s Choir [00:21:14] I used to sing songs with my mom, but now I can’t remember the words.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:21:29] As the song ends, something happens that no one expects. Simon seems to know that it’s time to celebrate him for his story. He gets up and walks to the middle aisle where everyone is clapping for him.
Alina Gorniak [00:21:42] Giving everyone amazing eye contact, looking around the audience, and eventually you see one adult audience member stand up to give an ovation, and then another audience member stands, and soon you have everyone standing and applauding for him, and he’s clapping and looking at everyone, and it is absolutely an amazing moment.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:22:11] When people ask how to help Simon and his family, his parents often direct them to donate to help find a cure for Sanfilippo syndrome. But Gorniak told me that their family also really needs something else, community. It’s isolating having a child with a serious, fatal medical condition. And parents of these children don’t often get to watch their child be celebrated, like Simon was at the concert. What did that do for your mama heart?
Alina Gorniak [00:22:37] Oh my gosh, oh for my mama heart was… I couldn’t have been more proud. And happy for Simon.
Michelle Dahlenburg [00:22:46] The experience convinced her that she wants to take him to more Austin Children’s Choir performances because he felt so accepted, embraced, and celebrated. And isn’t that what all of us want? For KUT News, I’m Michelle Dahlenburg in Austin.
Syeda Carillo [00:23:07] That’s it for us today on Austin Signal. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director. Kristin Cabrera is our managing producer. I’m Syeda Carrillo. Thanks for listening.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
