Thomas W. Pyle Middle School

Infobox School
name = Thomas W. Pyle Middle School


motto = Together, Building on Excellence
established = 1962
type = Public Middle School
affiliation =
district = Montgomery County
grades = 6 to 8
president =
principal = Michael Zarchin
head of school =
dean =
enrollment = 1,309 (as of 2005-06)
faculty = 77.0 (on FTE basis)
ratio = 17.0
athletics =
conference =
colors = Black and Red
teamname = Panthers
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
location = 6311 Wilson Ln.
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
information = 301-320-6540
website = [http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/pylems/ Link]

Thomas W. Pyle Middle School is a school in Bethesda, Maryland. 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, it has the largest student body of any middle school in that county. It feeds into Walt Whitman High School. Pyle Middle School is a National Blue Ribbon School. The current standing principal is Michael Zarchin. Along with being a great school academically, Thomas W. Pyle School is recognized for its extensive After School Activity program.

The elementary schools that feed into Thomas W. Pyle Middle School are Bradley Hills Elementary, Burning Tree Elementary, Wood Acres Elementary, Bethesda Elementary, Carderock Springs Elementary, and Bannockburn Elementary.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,309 students and 77.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 17.0. [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=2400480&SchoolPageNum=12&ID=240048009000 Thomas W. Pyle Middle School] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 12, 2007.]

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, [ [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.] the highest award an American school can receive. [ [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."] [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."]

Facts

*Pyle's mascot is the Panther
*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 [http://libes.com/don/pyle/PyleSong.mp3] ):: 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
*Pyle is the largest middle school in Montgomery County Public Schools.

*Approx. 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/pylems/school_info.shtml Pyle Middle School Website]
* [http://www.mcps.k12.md.us Montgomery County Public Schools Website]