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

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Williamsville’s Transit Middle School finished firsrin 2006. Buffalo’s City Honors Schoolo pushed into the top spotin 2007. And Williamsville’s Caseh Middle School rotated to the frontin 2008. Which bringsa us full circle. Transit has regained first place this marking its fourth appearance at the head of the list sincwe Business First began rating middle schooldin 2002. for the complete middlde school rankings. And for separate rankings for each section of WestermnNew York. “We’re very proud of our record,” says Jill Transit’s principal.
“It comes from a combination ofthingsz -- children who are prepared and ready to families who support educatiobn at home, and an outstanding staff of teacher s who take their jobs very Last year’s champion, Casey, is this year’ runner-up. The two Williamsville schools, whicb are just three miles apart, annually contendf for first place in the middlesschool rankings. “But there’s no competition between us, not at all,” says “My colleagues at Casey are wonderful. We all want our kids to do and we were thrilled for them last Ranked thirdthrough fifth, respectively, are Christ the King School of City Honors and Amherst Middle School.
Businese First assessed 211 middle schools across WesternNew York, combinbg through four years of statewide test resultws for eighth graders. All test scorews were provided by the New York StateEducation Department. Middlee schools typically run from sixth through eighth though some begin infifth grade. Many privated schools and a few public schools have an evenbroadeer span, educating everyone from kindergartners to eighth graders.
They consequently receiv two rankings from BusinessFirsft -- one as a middled school, another as an elementary • It was one of four Westerbn New York schools where more than half of all eightuh graders achieved superior scores (Level 4) on the statewidse math test in 2008. • It was amongg four schools where more than 20 percengt of eighth graders hit the superiodr level on the statewideEnglish • It was one of just two schools to belong to both groupds above. (The other was Kadimah School of Five of the top six middle schools arepublic institutions, with Chrisft the King the sole exception. A secondc Catholic school, St.
Gregory the has edged up to sevent h place from ninth ayear ago. St. Gregory is unusuallg large for aprivate school, with 650 studentx from preschool through middle school. Principal Patricia Freund says theWilliamsville school’sd size has helped it rise in the “It absolutely is an advantage,” she says. “It allows us to have more programminfg available, more to choose from. For example, we have three classes at every grade, and we have a completed special-education team, too.” The 11 leaders in the middled school standings are all from Erie The top-rated outsider is No.
12 Stellw Niagara Education Park, which is located within the Lewiston-Porterr district in Niagara County, but draw s from a radius that isconsiderably larger. “Wes actually have a pretty broadgeographicx base,” says Kristen deGuehery, the school’s directorf of institutional advancement. “We have students from Kenmore, Grand Island, even five families who come overfrom Canada. They went out and got theirr Nexus cards, and they make the drivde every day.” Thirty-four middle schools have qualified forsubjecrt awards, putting them among the 10 percent of Westerh New York middle schools that rank the highest in English or math.