Tell me about these middle schools: E. CAry, W. Cary, Martin, and DAvis Dr. (education, best)

[annesg]

Anyone have kids at these schools? Have any pros/cons to them?

[Poggly Woggly]

Martin is "to die for" I hear these days

[BalGal]

Well I know that Davis Drive set the standards on so many levels for Middle Schools and it was THE district to be in for so many years in Cary. I think their ABCs of Education was steadily at a grade of 98 or 99, but it has lost some of it's luster in recent years. Still a great school, but maybe with the opening of Mills Park nearby it is just not THE school to be at anymore. I think currently it's grade is 93 or 94… just a guess. Still way above Wake County's average and still IMO better than West Cary or East Cary.

[sachivalay]

We go to Martin and love it. Good teachers and excellent offerings.

[Usedtobe VaNC]

My oldest goes to Martin and loves it.

[theS5]

My daughter is in her first year at Davis Drive. So far, it has been a good experience. She had one poor teacher and he is gone.
One observation, and I don't think this is exclusive to Davis Drive, but once kids hit middle school, they quickly begin to become little adults. It makes me uneasy, to say the least.

[lamishra]

We have lots of friends and neighbors who go to East Cary and we have only heard wonderful things about it. It is YR and it's a traditional curriculum, so no long list of electives. Their score are slightly lower than the west Cary schools due to the higher number of FNR and ESL students, but given the more diverse demographics of the school, their scores are pretty good.
That's where we will be as well if we aren't accepted to a magnet for my youngest and I'm fine with it. I've also heard excellent things about the principal, teachers and staff. Several of my friends who have children there ARE teachers and seem very satisfied, so I feel pretty confident that it's a good school.

[Mikeheel]

Well, if ancient history matters, West Cary was the place be back in 79-82 when *I* was there.

[Usedtobe VaNC]

As S5 says, middle school is definately a place to "get through". Martin is our base, so we did not choose to go there (not that I even looked anywhere else) but we are very happy. Our dd is a dancer, creative type, so the electives are a bonus. Yes, it has some difficult kids (what MS doesn't) Yes, she has had some not so great teachers, but some have been amazing...something I think is true of many schools. I tend to be a hands off parent in MANY ways, so as long as my kid is getting good grades and fairly happy, I don't look much "under the cover"...if you know what I mean....so I may not be the best judge.
But I will tell you that the Principal at Martin runs a very tight ship discipline-wise.

[NCScrapmom]

We started Davis Drive this year and love it. My son has had a really good experience so far and the teachers he has are really on the ball. They almost immediately came to me to ask for permission to do AG testing which is something I begged another state to do for years. They're very good at controlling student "traffic" in the hallways and before/after school which is where most middle school trouble begins. As people have said before, middle school is a minefield. No school is perfect, but we do love Davis Drive.