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Twenty-two Long Island schools – including six in the top 25 – are among New York’s best 100 middle schools, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Schools rankings.
Garden City and Jericho middle schools placed highest on the list, sharing 14th place, with Roslyn Heights’ Willets Road School, Setauket’s Gelinas Junior High School, Glen Head’s North Shore Middle School, and Mattlin Middle School in Plainview rounding out Long Island’s representation in the top 25.
U.S. News gave an overall score of 98.37 out of 100 to Garden City and Jericho middle schools. Both schools have enrollments between 800-900 students and boast student-teacher ratios of 12:1 or less.
To create its rankings, U.S. News considered state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts, while accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools get their students ready for high school.
The media company did not release a national ranking. Instead, it calculated rankings within each state.
Click here to search for a specific middle school in the U.S. News rankings.
Long Island middle schools in the top 100
Below is a list of the 22 Long Island middle schools that placed among the state’s top 100.
No. 14 (tie) Garden City Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Garden City
Garden City Union Free School District
Enrollment 883 • Student-Teacher Ratio 12:1
No. 14 (tie) Jericho Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Jericho
Jericho Union Free School District
Enrollment 822 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 17 Willets Road School (Grades 5-7)
Roslyn Heights
East Williston Union Free School District
Enrollment 405 • Student-Teacher Ratio 8:1
No. 18 Paul J Gelinas Junior High School (Grades 7-9)
Setauket
Three Village Central School District
Enrollment 692 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 22 North Shore Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Glen Head
North Shore Central School District
Enrollment 616 • Student-Teacher Ratio 7:1
No. 24 Howard B. Mattlin Middle School (Grades 5-8)
Plainview
Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District
Enrollment 773 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 36 Herricks Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Albertson
Herricks Union Free School District
Enrollment 1,059 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 37 Roslyn Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Roslyn Heights
Roslyn Union Free School District
Enrollment 777 • Student-Teacher Ratio 12:1
No. 38 Great Neck South Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Great Neck
Great Neck Union Free School District
Enrollment 851 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 39 H.B. Thompson Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Syosset
Syosset Central School District
Enrollment 920 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 40 South Woods Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Syosset
Syosset Central School District
Enrollment 727 • Student-Teacher Ratio 9:1
Read: Long Island has 26 of New York’s best 100 elementary schools, U.S. News
No. 46 Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School (Grades 5-8)
Plainview
Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District
Enrollment 848 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 51 Manhasset Middle School (Grades 7-8)
Manhasset
Manhasset Union Free School District
Enrollment 509 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 52 Port Jefferson Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson Union Free School District
Enrollment 231 • Student-Teacher Ratio 9:1
No. 56 John F Kennedy Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Bethpage
Bethpage Union Free School District
Enrollment 695 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 61 Great Neck North Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Great Neck
Great Neck Union Free School District
Enrollment 787 • Student-Teacher Ratio 8:1
No. 66 Cold Spring Harbor High School (Grades 7-12)
Cold Spring Harbor
Cold Spring Harbor Central School District
Enrollment 775 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 75 Candlewood Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Dix Hills
Half Hollow Hills Central School District
Enrollment 746 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
No. 80 Birch School (Grades K-10)
Merrick
Merrick Union Free School District
Enrollment 538 • Student-Teacher Ratio 10:1
No. 81 Grand Avenue Middle School (Grades 7-8)
Bellmore
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
Enrollment 870 • Student-Teacher Ratio 12:1
No. 92 Wheatley School (Grades 8-12)
Old Westbury
East Williston Union Free School District
Enrollment 696 • Student-Teacher Ratio 9:1
No. 96 Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High School (Grades 7-9)
Stony Brook
Three Village Central School District
Enrollment 698 • Student-Teacher Ratio 11:1
Top photo: Facebook/Garden City Middle School
