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==Awards and recognition==
==Awards and recognition==
During the 2006-07 school year, Thomas W. Pyle Middle School was recognized with the [[Blue Ribbon Schools Program|Blue Ribbon School]] Award of Excellence by the [[United States Department of Education]],<ref>[http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-2003.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF)], [[United States Department of Education]]. Accessed September 25, 2007.</ref> the highest award an American school can receive.<ref>[http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17475750&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6 CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department], ''[[Journal Inquirer]]'', November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. '''It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve'''."</ref><ref>Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; ''[[The Washington Post]]''. September 29, 2005 '''"For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."'''</ref>
During the 2006-07 school year, Thomas W. Pyle Middle School was recognized with the [[Blue Ribbon Schools Program|Blue Ribbon School]] Award of Excellence by the [[United States Department of Education]],<ref>[http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-2003.pdf Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF)], [[United States Department of Education]]. Accessed September 25, 2007.</ref> the highest award an American school can receive.<ref>[http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17475750&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6 CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department], ''[[Journal Inquirer]]'', November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. '''It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve'''."</ref><ref>Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; ''[[The Washington Post]]''. September 29, 2005 '''"For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."'''</ref>

==Critiques==
While Thomas W. Pyle has had very high ratings and is known to be one of the best schools in the nation, it has had it's share of critiques. It went through a minor racism scandal and a more widely known sexting scandal along with Walt Whitman. Also there has been criticism of possibly over-stressing students and focusing to much on tests rather than trying to make learning a more fun and engaging experience. There is also strong criticism about the Montgomery county schedule where students must sit through ninety minute periods; people argue that few adults would be able to sit through a ninety minute period especially if the former point is true (Pyle does not engage/interest students) and that it isn't fair to put students through that and by consequence giving them a negative image of learning and education. Another critique is that at Pyle it may be too easy to get good grades. There are numerous retakes allowed and an 89.5% counts as an A instead of a 90%. Also there is no difference in your letter grade between a 89.5% and a 99% which is roughly a ten point difference. Most of these critiques are about Montgomery county itself and most people still agree that Pyle is a very good school, perhaps not great though.


==Facts==
==Facts==

Revision as of 19:18, 4 June 2010

Thomas W. Pyle Middle School
Location
Map
6311 Wilson Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817
Information
TypePublic Middle School
Established1962
School districtMontgomery County Public Schools
PrincipalMr. Michael Zarchin
Faculty79.6 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades6–8
Enrollment1,336 (2009–2010)
Student to teacher ratio12.9 (2009–2010)
CampusSuburban
Color(s)   
MascotPanthers
Information301-320-6540
WebsitePyle Home Page

Thomas W. Pyle Middle School, colloquially known as Pyle Middle School, is a public school for students in grades 6, 7 and 8 located in Bethesda, Maryland. It was founded as a junior high school in 1962 and named after a longtime principal of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, who later became assistant superintendent for Montgomery County, Maryland. Pyle has the largest student body of any middle school in the county, and it is a National Blue Ribbon School.

Pyle feeds into Walt Whitman High School. The elementary schools that feed into Pyle are Bradley Hills, Burning Tree, Wood Acres, Bethesda, Carderock Springs, and Bannockburn.

For the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,303 students and 79.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 16.4.[1]

Awards and recognition

During the 2006-07 school year, Thomas W. Pyle Middle School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[2] the highest award an American school can receive.[3][4]

Critiques

While Thomas W. Pyle has had very high ratings and is known to be one of the best schools in the nation, it has had it's share of critiques. It went through a minor racism scandal and a more widely known sexting scandal along with Walt Whitman. Also there has been criticism of possibly over-stressing students and focusing to much on tests rather than trying to make learning a more fun and engaging experience. There is also strong criticism about the Montgomery county schedule where students must sit through ninety minute periods; people argue that few adults would be able to sit through a ninety minute period especially if the former point is true (Pyle does not engage/interest students) and that it isn't fair to put students through that and by consequence giving them a negative image of learning and education. Another critique is that at Pyle it may be too easy to get good grades. There are numerous retakes allowed and an 89.5% counts as an A instead of a 90%. Also there is no difference in your letter grade between a 89.5% and a 99% which is roughly a ten point difference. Most of these critiques are about Montgomery county itself and most people still agree that Pyle is a very good school, perhaps not great though.

Facts

  • Pyle Middle School's former principal, Dr. Alan Goodwin, is now the principal of Walt Whitman High School, the high school that only Pyle feeds into.
  • These are the lyrics to Pyle's school song (audio):
Alma Mater
For Thomas Pyle,
Through all the while
We mingle hearts and voices
The Red and Black will not hold back,
We hail while each rejoices
Our faith to you
Is ever true
Fond memories will bring a smile
Good friends in all your hallways
Will sing your praises always
All hail to you
O Thomas Pyle
  • Approximately 11% of Pyle's students come from countries other than the United States.
  • When it was a junior high school during the 1975–1976 school year, Pyle's faculty and students were horrified when a ninth-grade student, Brad Bishop, was murdered by his father, the senior Brad Bishop. The killer, a State Department employee, murdered his mother, wife and three sons and then escaped to Europe where he was never caught. The mass killing occurred two months and several days after the sudden death of Brad's ninth-grade classmate Kamy Nathanson. She died when her family's station wagon was struck by a driver with a suspended license while they spent Pyle's Christmas/Hanukkah vacation in Rhode Island. From 1976 until the original Pyle building was razed in the early 1990s, memorial plaques for Bishop and Nathanson were visible on a grassy lawn in the middle of the school building. The plaques had their names and vital years, which were "1961 – 1975" for Nathanson and "1961 – 1976" for Bishop.

Extracurricular Activities

Pyle offers the following extracurricular activities for students.[5]

Clubs and Activities

Interscholastic Sports

  • Boys Basketball
  • Girls Basketball
  • Cross Country (Coed)
  • Boys Soccer
  • Girls Soccer
  • Boys Softball
  • Girls Softball

References

  1. ^ a b Thomas W. Pyle Middle School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 20, 2010.
  2. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 25, 2007.
  3. ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  4. ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  5. ^ http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/pylems/school_info.shtml#pantherprograms

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