Top 100 WNY Middle Schools

BUFFALO, NY (WIVB) - In a rare year for Business First's rankings of Western New York's middle schools the previous winner still holds first place.

Transit Middle School of Williamsville remains No. 1 in the academic standings, scoring the category's first repeat victory since 2006. The top spot had rotated from Buffalo's City Honors School to Williamsville's Casey Middle School to Transit in the intervening years.

This marks the fifth time that Transit has occupied first place since Business First began ranking middle schools in 2002.

"We have a great population of kids. They work hard," says Jill Pellis, Transit's principal. "Their parents value education. They believe in us. And our teachers, well, we just hire the best and get out of their way."

>> RELATED: Check out the top WNY Elementary Schools

Business First analyzed the academic records of 212 middle schools throughout the eight-county region. Ratings were based on four years of test scores compiled by the New York State Education Department.

Full details will be available in Business First's 2010-2011 Guide to Western New York Schools, which hits newsstands on Friday. Highlights are also available at the newspaper's website: buffalo.bizjournals.com.

The list of the Top 100 Middle Schools is below.

1. Transit MS (Williamsville)
2. Christ the King School (Amherst)
3. City Honors School (Buffalo)
4. Casey MS (Williamsville)
5. St. Christopher's School (Sweet Home)
6. Amherst MS (Amherst)
7. Heim MS (Williamsville)
8. Mill MS (Williamsville)
9. St. Gregory the Great School (Williamsville)
10. St. Mark's School (Buffalo)
11. Immaculate Conception School (East Aurora)
12. St. Mary's School (Williamsville)
13. St. John Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
14. Christian Central Academy (Williamsville)
15. Kadimah School of Buffalo (Amherst)
16. St. Leo the Great School (Sweet Home)
17. Alden MS (Alden)
18. Clarence MS (Clarence)
19. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School (Clarence)
20. St. Peter & Paul School (Hamburg)
21. East Aurora MS (East Aurora)
22. Nardin Academy ES (Buffalo)
23. St. Peter & Paul School (Williamsville)
24. Nativity of Our Lord School (Orchard Park)
25. St. Andrew's Country Day School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
26. Stella Niagara Education Park (Lewiston-Porter)
27. Orchard Park MS (Orchard Park)
28. Wyoming Central School (Wyoming)
29. St. John the Baptist School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
30. Iroquois MS (Iroquois)
31. Akron MS (Akron)
32. St. John Vianney School (Orchard Park)
33. Chautauqua Lake Secondary School (Chautauqua Lake)
34. Catholic Academy of the Holy Family (Jamestown)
35. Alfred-Almond JSHS (Alfred-Almond)
36. Immaculate Conception School (Wellsville)
37. Veronica E. Connor MS (Grand Island)
38. Lancaster MS (Lancaster)
39. West MS (West Seneca)
40. Hamburg MS (Hamburg)
41. Maple Grove JSHS (Bemus Point)
42. St. Bernadette School (Orchard Park)
43. East MS (West Seneca)
44. Holland MS (Holland)
45. Queen of Heaven School (West Seneca)
46. DeSales Catholic ES (Lockport)
47. Frontier MS (Frontier)
48. Holy Ghost Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
49. St. Stephen School (Grand Island)
50. Herbert Hoover MS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
51. Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary School (Iroquois)
52. Sweet Home MS (Sweet Home)
53. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School (West Seneca)
54. Lewiston-Porter MS (Lewiston-Porter)
55. St. Francis of Assisi School (Tonawanda)
56. Lake Shore Central MS (Evans-Brant)
57. West Valley Central School (West Valley)
58. Kenmore MS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
59. Barker MS (Barker)
60. North Collins JSHS (North Collins)
61. Clymer Central School (Clymer)
62. Starpoint MS (Starpoint)
63. St. Dominic Savio MS (Niagara Falls)
64. Tapestry CS (Buffalo)
65. St. Aloysius Regional School (Springville-Griffith Institute)
66. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School (Lancaster)
67. Tonawanda MS (Tonawanda)
68. Newfane MS (Newfane)
69. St. Amelia School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
70. St. Mary's of the Lake School (Frontier)
71. Southwestern MS (Southwestern)
72. St. Benedict's School (Amherst)
73. St. Peter School (Lewiston-Porter)
74. St. Joseph School (Batavia)
75. St. Matthew Lutheran School (North Tonawanda)
76. St. Peter's Lutheran School (Niagara-Wheatfield)
77. Griffith Institute MS (Springville-Griffith Institute)
78. Cleveland Hill MS (Cleveland Hill)
79. Letchworth MS (Letchworth)
80. Maryvale MS (Cheektowaga-Maryvale)
81. Royalton-Hartland MS (Royalton-Hartland)
82. Sherman HS (Sherman)
83. Edward Town MS (Niagara-Wheatfield)
84. Whitesville Central School (Whitesville)
85. Depew MS (Depew)
86. Fourteen Holy Helpers School (West Seneca)
87. St. Vincent DePaul School (Iroquois)
88. Wilson HS (Wilson)
89. Southern Tier Catholic School (Olean)
90. Ben Franklin MS (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
91. Our Lady of Pompeii School (Lancaster)
92. P.S. 56 Frederick Law Olmsted (Buffalo)
93. North Tonawanda Catholic School (North Tonawanda)
94. Pembroke JSHS (Pembroke)
95. Eden JSHS (Eden)
96. St. Paul's School (Kenmore-Tonawanda)
97. Allegany-Limestone MS (Allegany-Limestone)
98. Pine Valley Central JSHS (Pine Valley)
99. St. Mary's ES (Lancaster)
100. Holy Family School (LeRoy)

ABBREVIATIONS: CS-Charter School, EMS-Elementary-Middle School, ES-Elementary School, HS-High School, IS-Intermediate School, JHS-Junior High School, JSHS-Junior-Senior High School, MHS-Middle-High School, MS-Middle School, PS-Primary School, SHS-Senior High School, VHS-Vocational High School.