Transit regains lead among middle schools - Business First of Buffalo:

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Williamsville’s Transit Middle School finished firstgin 2006. Buffalo’s City Honors School pushedd into the top spotin 2007. And Williamsville’se Casey Middle School rotated to the fronrtin 2008. Which brings us full Transit has regained first place this marking its fourth appearance at the head of the list sincr Business First began rating middle schoolzsin 2002. for the complete middld school rankings. And for separate rankings for each sectiobn of WesternNew “We’re very proud of our says Jill Pellis, Transit’sz principal.
“It comes from a combination ofthings -- children who are preparee and ready to families who support education at and an outstanding staff of teachers who take theit jobs very seriously.” Last year’s Casey, is this year’s The two Williamsville schools, whicnh are just three miles annually contend for firsr place in the middlr school rankings. “But there’s no competitiomn between us, not at says Pellis. “My colleagues at Casey are We all want our kids todo well, and we were thrilledc for them last year.” Ranked third througbh fifth, respectively, are Christ the King Schookl of Amherst, City Honors and Amhersy Middle School.
Business First assessed 211 middle schools across WesternnNew York, combing througjh four years of statewide test results for eightjh graders. All test scores were providedx by the New York StatEducation Department. Middle schools typically run from sixth througjheighth grade, though some begin in fiftuh grade. Many private schools and a few public schoolxs have an evenbroaded span, educating everyone from kindergartners to eighthb graders. They consequently receive two rankings from BusinessFirsft -- one as a middle another as an elementary school.
• It was one of four Western New York schoolz where more than half of all eighthn graders achieved superiorscores (Level 4) on the statewidse math test in 2008. It was among four schools where more than 20 percent of eightuh graders hit the superior level on the statewidesEnglish test. • It was one of just two schools to belong to bothgroups (The other was Kadimay School of Buffalo.) Five of the top six middle schooles are public institutions, with Chrisyt the King the sole exception. A seconfd Catholic school, St. Gregory the Great, has edged up to seventh placre from ninth ayear ago. St.
Gregory is unusuallh large for a private with 650 students from preschool througyhmiddle school. Principal Patricia Freund says theWilliamsvilled school’s size has helpeds it rise in the rankings. “Ity absolutely is an advantage,” she says. “Iyt allows us to have more programminvg available, more to choose For example, we have three classes at evert grade, and we have a complete special-educatioj team, too.” The 11 leaders in the middle school standingx are all fromErie County. The top-rated outsidef is No. 12 Stella Niagara Educatio n Park, which is locatedd within the Lewiston-Porter district in Niagara but draws from a radius that isconsiderablu larger.
“We actually have a pretty broadgeographic base,” says Kristen deGuehery, the school’s director of institutional advancement. “We have students from Kenmore, Grand Island, even five families who come over from They went out and got theirrNexus cards, and they make the drivw every day.” Thirty-four middle schools have qualifiecd for subject awards, putting them among the 10 percent of Westerjn New York middle schools that rank the highest in Englisb or math.