New rankings say this district has the best middle schools in Kansas City. See where
Niche’s school rankings revealed the best elementary and high schools in the Kansas City area, but what about middle schools?
Whether your kid’s elementary school has a middle school connected to it or not, choosing the next step for your child’s education after fifth grade is an important one.
Niche, a school and neighborhood ranking service and data aggregator that pulls information from dozens of sources and reviews from current and former students, recently released its 2025 rankings for the best public middle schools in the Kansas City metro.
The rankings are similar to elementary and high schools in that the top schools reside in Overland Park. Here is a closer look at the best middle schools in the Kansas City metro, and where other schools fall on the list.
Blue Valley School District claims No. 1 spot
The best middle school in the Kansas City area is Pleasant Ridge Middle School, according to Niche. The school, 9000 W. 165th St., Overland Park, is a part of the Blue Valley Unified School District and received an A+ from Niche for its academics and teachers, which both ranked as some of the best in Kansas City.
Pleasant Ridge is also the No. 1 ranked middle school in Kansas. The top six middle schools in the Kansas City metro are all in the Blue Valley Unified School District:
- No. 2: Lakewood Middle School, 6601 Edgewater Drive, Overland Park
- No. 3: Prairie Star Middle School, 14201 Mission Road, Leawood
- No. 4: Harmony Middle School, 10101 W. 141st St., Overland Park
- No. 5: Overland Trail Middle School, 6201 W. 133rd St., Overland Park
- No. 6: Oxford Middle School, 12500 Switzer Road, Overland Park
Aubry Bend Middle School from the Blue Valley Unified School District also claimed the 10th spot on the list.
One Missouri school in the top 10
Like the 2025 elementary school list from Niche, the 2025 middle school list includes one school based in Missouri in the top 10: Summit Lakes Middle School, 3500 SW Windemere Drive in Lee’s Summit. The school is the ninth-best in the Kansas City metro and is a part of the Lee’s Summit R-VII School District.
The school received an A grade from Niche, including an A+ for its teachers. It’s also the best middle school in Jackson County.
The seventh-best school is Patton Junior High School, 1 Patton Loop in Fort Leavenworth, in the Fort Leavenworth Unified School District. The eighth-best school is Lexington Trails Middle School, 8800 Penner Ave. in De Soto, which is a part of the De Soto Unified School District.
More Missouri schools were listed in the top 25:
- No. 11: Delta Woods Middle School, Blue Springs R-IV School District
- No. 18: Brittany Hills Middle School, Blue Springs R-IV School District
- No. 20: Bernard C. Campbell Middle School, Lee’s Summit R-VII School District
- No. 21: Paul Kinder Middle School, Blue Springs R-IV School District
- No. 22: Lakeview Middle School, Park Hill School District
- No. 23: Moreland Ridge Middle School, Blue Springs R-IV School District
