I wouldn't choose Pyle for the teaching or administration. There are other middle schools that are stronger in those areas. Pyle is the right school if you prioritize safety and having your child be surrounded by students from other high-income, highly educated families.

The richest ones

Takoma Park Middle School

I would pick Pyle.

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there will be a lot of debate here but if you're going off of rankings, usually Pyle is at the top for MCPS

TPMS, the most decorated MS is at the top, not only in MCPS but in the whole DMV.

MS is horrible for most, and just awful for girls

The magnets, Takoma Park and Eastern have great programs if you can get in

Pyle, non-magnet and very large is well regarded, but your child can get lost in the shuffle if they are a quiet kid

If you can survive MS. Academics = embarrassing.

TPMS is fantastic

Anonymous wrote:How do you even rank MS? OP, MS sucks across mcps. Focus on HS.

+1 most MS here focus on social/emotional learning rather than academics. MS is definitely the weak link.

Except that attending a certain middle school doesn't connect you to its feeder HS unless you actually live in that MS anyway.

I think most people link the MS status to the HS.

How do you even rank MS? OP, MS sucks across mcps. Focus on HS.

That only matters if you don't already live here. The criteria-based magnets are qualification and then lottery, so you don't actually have control over attendance. All other programs are also lottery-based except immersion, where you are tracked in from an immersion elementary. Short answer: if you want a particular middle school (not a particular program), you pretty much have to go live in it.

I'm sure there will be a lot of debate here but if you're going off of rankings, usually Pyle is at the top for MCPS

What are considered the top 5 MS in MCPS?