Transit Middle School, East Amherst NY

Original Research by School Decision on Transit Middle School

Transit Middle School serves a substantial enrollment of students in grades five through eight in East Amherst, drawing from a residential and commercial suburban area north of Buffalo. The school is part of the Williamsville Central School District, which administers thirteen school buildings across the region.

Academically, Transit demonstrates solid proficiency across tested subjects. In math, proficiency ranges from the high seventies in grades five and six, climbs sharply to strong performance in grade seven, and is notably high in grade eight, though the eighth-grade cohort is smaller and not fully representative of the school's overall math instruction. English language arts shows consistent strength, with proficiency in the high seventies to mid-eighties across grades five through eight. Science proficiency sits at a respectable level in fifth grade and rises further in eighth grade. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Erie County, a meaningful positioning that reflects strong teaching and learning across the board.

The student body is diverse in composition. White students comprise the largest group, followed by a substantial population of Asian students, with smaller shares of students of two or more races, Hispanic students, and Black students. A small portion of the overall enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a generally higher-income school community, though some families in the school area do face economic need.

Transit Middle School sits on a suburban campus along Transit Road in an established neighborhood with tree-lined streets, parks, and commercial centers. The setting is typical of post-1950s suburban development in the Northtowns region, with the school serving as a community anchor alongside family spaces like Paradise Park. Families in this area live in a housing market with median home values in a mid-to-upper range for Western New York, and rents are proportionally aligned. The area has seen steady new construction, though much of East Amherst is built out with limited available land. Transit via NFTA Route 49 connects the Eastern Hills Mall and nearby neighborhoods to the University District and downtown.

The school is part of a district that has undertaken a multi-phase air conditioning project in elementary schools, completing core facility improvements through the 2027-2028 school year. A recent townwide property reassessment in Amherst reset how school tax burden is distributed based on full market value, which means individual families' tax bills shifted depending on their property's new assessment. The district considered but ultimately declined to change school start times after a lengthy review process, so existing schedules remain stable.

Data on English learner enrollment, students with individualized education plans, chronic absenteeism, and course offerings was not available for this school, so a reader interested in those specifics would benefit from contacting the school directly or reviewing the district website for program details. State testing results for social studies are available only from 2009-10, not current years, which reflects a change in state testing policy over time rather than a gap in the school's own performance.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

1 course reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Science	123	100.0%

Math

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 77% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 677%

School 77% · District 75% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 787%

School 87% · District 80% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 895%

School 95% · District 82% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 57 pts above state median · ▲ 70 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 73% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 682%

School 82% · District 73% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 785%

School 85% · District 73% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

Grade 886%

School 86% · District 71% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 64% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 72% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 54 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 8100%

School 100% · district not reported

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolWILLIAMSVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income79%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income73%Higher-income84%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income80%Higher-income85%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income89%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income67%Higher-income82%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income65%Higher-income80%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income76%Higher-income89%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income94%Higher-income95%1 pp gap