List of Prince George's County Public Schools middle schools
This article provides details on the middle schools within the Prince George's County Public Schools system, in the U.S. State of Maryland.
Middle schools operate as 6th–8th grade middle schools. Some middle schools are part of combined PreK-8th grade elementary/middle schools, and are referred to as "Academies". Grades 7–9 junior high schools were completely phased out in the mid-1980s. Recent efforts have been made to convert most middle schools to the more popular grades 6–8 model. Issues in the past such as over-enrollment, lack of classroom space, and funding, had made it hard to convert all middle schools to a grades 6–8 configuration, but with increased funding and the addition of new middle schools, the transition is slowly being made to be completed by SY2024–2025.
Most middle schools in Prince George's County operate with a "comprehensive" model as their base. Most students are assigned to a middle school based on an "attendance area". Most magnet programs are run as a "school-within-a-school" model, where the magnet serves as an alternative program — in addition to the main comprehensive program
— and students from outside the regular attendance area of the middle school are enrolled and accepted into the magnet, either through continuity or more commonly, through a "magnet lottery", where students apply for a magnet program and are granted acceptance through a random drawing. Almost all middle schools have a whole-school "signature program" that includes a specialized program of instruction which is the foundation of the school's comprehensive program.
All middle schools in the PGCPS operate on a staggered school day schedule, where some middle schools start as early as 7:45 am and the end as early as 2:25 pm, and other middle schools start as late as 9:30 am and end as late as 4:10 pm. All middle schools operate on a modified block scheduling system, where some classes meet for as long as 70 minutes, daily.
In a cooperative effort of the county government, Board of Education, and the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, some M-NCPPC community centers are physically connected to middle schools throughout the district. The unique community park/school centers currently features shared use areas which include a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, exercise/fitness room, dance room, arts and crafts room, computer lab, offices, storage areas, patio area, and restrooms. There are tennis courts and unlighted fields located on-site at select centers.
The Accokeek Academy
The Accokeek Academy is a Talented and Gifted Center magnet school, located in Accokeek. The Accokeek Academy was instituted in the fall of 2009 as part of the PGCPS school consolidation effort. Under the initiative, Eugene Burroughs Middle School and neighboring Henry G. Ferguson Elementary School were combined to create The Accokeek Academy. The school's name was decided after input from the community that the two schools serve.At the middle school-level, the principal is Judy Adams. The school hours are 9:30 am – 4:10 pm. There are roughly 700 students enrolled in grades 6–8. The school currently has a uniform policy in place.
The Talented and Gifted Magnet Program at the Accokeek Academy is designed to provide accelerated learning for highly gifted students. The program functions as a "school-within-a-school," where the magnet serves as a secondary program to the main comprehensive program. Admission into the TAG magnet program is through specialized TAG admissions testing only.
In 2009, 73.6% and 52% of all students in Grades 6–8 tested proficient in reading and mathematics, respectively, based on scores from the state-administered MSAs. 32% of all students were eligible for the government-funded free and reduced lunch program.
Approximately half of all students attend high school at Friendly High School, while the other half attend Gwynn Park High School.
Beltsville Academy
Beltsville Academy is a pre-kindergarten through 8th grade academy, located in Beltsville.Beltsville Academy operated as Beltsville Elementary School and prior to that, as Beltsville Academic Center, until the 2008–09 school year, when it was converted to a pre-kindergarten through 8th grade school. The middle school comprises grades six through eight. The principal is Leslie Lowe. The school hours are 8:30 am to 3:10 pm. This school does not currently have a uniform policy.
Beltsville Academy is a feeder school to High Point High School.
Buck Lodge Middle School
Buck Lodge Middle School is a Title I comprehensive school located in Adelphi. The principal is James Richardson. The school hours are 8:30 am to 3:10 pm. Roughly 643 students are enrolled. There is a mandatory uniform policy in effect at this school.As of 2009, 69.1% and 56.2% of all students were proficient in reading and mathematics, respectively, as determined by the statewide MSA assessments.
Buck Lodge Middle School mainly only serves the communities of Adelphi and Langley Park.
Langley Park McCormick Elementary School, Mary Harris Mother Jones Elementary School, Cool Spring Elementary School, Adelphi Elementary School, and Cherokee Lane Elementary School are all feeder schools into Buck Lodge Middle School. Buck Lodge Middle School then feeds into High Point High School.
Charles Carroll Middle School
Charles Carroll Middle School is a Title I comprehensive middle school, located in New Carrollton. The school is named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a lawyer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and later United States Senator for Maryland.The principal is David G. Curry Jr. There is currently a mandatory uniform policy in effect at CCMS. There are 743 students enrolled in grades seven and eight. 81% of students are African American, 14% Hispanic, 3% are Caucasian, and 2% are identified as Asian/Pacific Islander. 58.8% of the students qualify for the government-sponsored free or reduced lunch program, in contrast to 45.3% within the district, and a 30.7% statewide average.
In 2009, 62.5% and 41.1% of all students tested proficient in reading and mathematics, respectively, based on scores from the state administered MSAs. Carroll features the school-wide America's Choice School Design Signature Program which serves as the foundation for the school's comprehensive program.
Charles Carroll Middle School primarily serves the community of New Carrollton and a small portion of Lanham.
Lamont Elementary School, Carrollton Elementary School, and Robert M. Frost Elementary School are the only three feeder schools into Charles Carroll Middle School. Charles Carroll Middle School then feeds into Parkdale High School.
Stephen Decatur Middle School
Stephen Decatur Middle School is a Talented and Gifted Center magnet school and community center, located in Clinton. The school is named after Stephen Decatur, who was an American Naval officer notable for his heroism in the First and Second Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812. He was the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy, and the first American celebrated as a national military hero who had not played a role in the American Revolution.The principal is Charity McGruder. The school hours are 9:30 am to 4:10 pm. There are 658 students enrolled across three grade levels. There is uniform policy currently in effect at this school.
Stephen Decatur hosts a Talented and Gifted magnet program that functions as a "school-within-a-school," where the TAG magnet program is a secondary program to the school's main comprehensive program. Students are placed into the program through either TAG testing or through continuity, where a student has previously been enrolled in a TAG magnet elementary school and they are automatically placed into a TAG magnet program at the middle school level. Dectaur also features the AVID Signature Program.
In 2009, 67.7% and 43.3% of all students tested proficient in reading and mathematics, respectively, as determined by the state administered MSAs. 38.3% of students qualified for the government-funded free or reduced lunch program.
In a cooperative effort of the county government, Board of Education, and the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission, Stephen Decatur has a community/recreation center physically connected to it.
Stephen Decatur Middle School feeds into Clinton High School.
Drew-Freeman Middle School
Drew-Freeman Middle School is a comprehensive school located in Suitland. The principal is LeTrecia Gloster. The school hours are 7:45 am to 2:50 pm. There are approximate 843 students enrolled as of September 2009. There is a mandatory uniform policy in place at this school.Drew-Freeman was originally established as Francis Scott Key Junior High School. The school relocated to its current location at what used to be known as LaReine High School, an all-girls Catholic school. The school had also been designated a science, mathematics, and technology magnet school for a number of years prior to the relocation. LaReine High School was shuttered in 1992 and stood unoccupied until the school was reopened as a public middle school.
Dr. Jesse L. Freeman Jr. was then principal at Francis Scott Key, who died in 1994. He had been instrumental in the implementation of the science, mathematics, and technology center at Francis Scott Key and several other schools throughout the county. Upon relocating to the former LaReine High School facility, the community wanted to rename Francis Scott Key after famed African-American physician and medical researcher, Dr. Charles R. Drew. Others wanted to rename the school after f Freeman. A compromise was made and the facility was named Drew-Freeman Middle School.
The science, mathematics, and technology magnet program was eliminated at Drew-Freeman and at all other locations within PGCPS, in 2006. This left Drew-Freeman as a comprehensive school with the America's Choice School Design Signature Program.
As of 2009, 56.4% and 30.1% of all students were proficient in reading and mathematics, as determined by the state administered MSAs. 62.1% of all students qualified for the government-funded free or reduced lunch program.
District Heights Elementary School, Suitland Elementary School, Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School, Bradbury Heights Elementary School, Morningside Elementary School, William Beanes Elementary School, and Forestville Elementary School all feed into either Drew-Freeman Middle School, or the Andrew Jackson Academy. Both Middle Schools then feed into Suitland High School.