Question about elementary and middle schools

[jellyben]

I posted last week about the boundary changes that my town is going through, and the latest problem is that a couple of the elementary schools will splinter off to 2 or 3 middle schools, sometimes with just 10 kids from one ES going to the same middle school(which have 1200 kids). The parents are talking about how unhealthy this is for kids' social development and academic performance, and how this is a very uncommon practice. Thought I would see if most ES's feed into just 1 middle school.

Thanks.

[lindrusso]

In our district, all 4 elementary schools feed into one middle school.

That would be hard if you had to go to 2 or 3 different schools. It's hard enough to make that transition, but to lose all those familiar faces would make it even harder. So, yes, it could be hurtful socially.

I don't know if I follow how it would necessarily hurt their academic performance....it's an academic adjustment no matter who goes to what school. Or would they be going out of district where academics might differ substantially from what they are used to in their current district?

In any case, kids are very resilient and most would probably adjust quite well, even if it is not the ideal situation.....

Alysha

[MusicMom]

Our elementary schools split students between middle schools when new middle schools open, which is just about every year. Our middle schools are about the same size as yours for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

The argument that splitting students up is detrimental to their social and academic development isn't relevant, in my opinion. The students are split up between individual classes anyway in middle school and only have classes with their old friends from elementary school by coincidence. Middle school is a completely different experience than elementary school and the children have to adjust to changing classes and meeting a lot more people anyway.

Plus, once students are in middle school they don't want to be identified with the elementary school anymore.

[rosie_one]

Our elementary schools (groups of 5-8 schools) feed into a designated middle school and then into designated high schools. It's all by location and I think they divided the town to attempt to have as broad of a spectrum of racial and economic demographics at each school as possible. I know it was controvertial at the time, but that seems to have settled down.

Hmm... are there big differences between the middle schools? How do they decide who goes to which middle school? What you are describing seems odd to me, and like kind of a logistical nightmare. How do you avoid segregation and parental politics over who goes to what school?

[jellyben]

Thanks for the input.

Rosie, the MS are comparable, but it is turning into a logistical and political nightmare. The new boundary proposal makes so little sense you have to wonder how a reasonable person came up with it.

Musicmom, I do think it is important for kids to have some sort of support system when going into middle school, even if they just see each other at lunch. Some research even indicates this is a more crucial time for social issues than high school. Are you in Fairfax Co? We used to live there, and our plan is to move back there, ironically when our oldest is ready for middle school.

Alysha, as far as academics are concerned, I guess the idea is that if they are struggling emotionally and socially, this would impact their school performance.

[tbb113]

The majority of the elementary schools feed only one middle school. Some of them (I believe) have their choice of two middle schools. I know that these is true of the HS as well.

But, I will say in general, that your friends from elementary school are not the same people you hang with in middle school (with some exceptions).

[colleency]

I'm thinking it wouldn't be any more socially detrimental than moving, which is what I did at the beginning of Jr. High.

[Kathy B]

Originally posted by colleency
I'm thinking it wouldn't be any more socially detrimental than moving, which is what I did at the beginning of Jr. High.

I agree. It is a challenge, but one that most kids can handle and come out stronger in the end. (We moved when I was in 5th grade and again my junior year. The second move was much harder, but I survived it, too.)

[Kristilyn1]

It seems overly complicated the way your town is planning it. The city next to me has I believe, 2 middle schools. Elementary Schools, A,B & C spill into MS1, X, Y & Z spill into MS2. It just seems that they will constantly be bombarded with requests to change schools based on siblings needing to be in the same schools, or carpool issues. Plus it would be kind of disconcerting for people buying a house to have absolutely no idea where there middle schoolers might end up. I think it is just plain senseless to have children in a neighborhood potentially going to different schools, all over the town. Yes, with current districting there is the chance that kids across the street from each other will go to different schools but do we then have to add to the confusion by having EVERY SINGLE neighborhood in town desegregated? Can they handle it? Of course they will---but like so many ideas in this society they lose all common sense trying to make things "more fair". Two words that can't exist together.

Kristi

[MusicMom]

Originally posted by jellyben
Musicmom, I do think it is important for kids to have some sort of support system when going into middle school, even if they just see each other at lunch. Some research even indicates this is a more crucial time for social issues than high school. Are you in Fairfax Co? We used to live there, and our plan is to move back there, ironically when our oldest is ready for middle school.

We're Loudoun County, right next door to Fairfax. My DS is a h.s. sophomore, but my DD is headed to middle school in the fall so I've been trying to remember what the transition is like. I think the sixth grade teachers make an effort to do some team building kinds of things to pull together the students who come from five different elementary schools.

You're right, initially it helps to see some friends at lunch. However, it doesn't take long for the students to start to form relationships with the children in their classes- even for my shy DS. Band students especially form friendships pretty quickly.

I think most of Fairfax County has elementary schools that go through 6th grade, then have an intermediate or junior high for 7th and 8th.

[MKSquared]

There is such a huge difference between a 5th grader and a 6th grader. If the boundary changes reflect neigborhoods, then the middle schools will be closer-knit and probably more tied to the communities. If the boundary changes reflect a desire to integrate students, children will become richer with their social lives as they interact with people they might not otherwise know.

1200 students is still pretty big for a middle school. How is it divided up? It's important for students to have at least one mentor within the school, to have one adult (be it a teacher, administrator, or other school staff member) know them well. The transition between middle school and elementary school is hard, but it sounds like many other students will be in the same boat.

Chances are - like other people have mentioned - that their classes won't be self-contained. They'll change classes between blocks or periods, they'll see new students in almost every class, and they would have to make new social contacts anyway.

Keep the phone lines free for after school, though. :)

[badunnin]

Originally posted by MKSquared


1200 students is still pretty big for a middle school. How is it divided up? It's important for students to have at least one mentor within the school, to have one adult (be it a teacher, administrator, or other school staff member) know them well. The transition between middle school and elementary school is hard, but it sounds like many other students will be in the same boat.


Building off of this, many schools will have a 10 minute homeroom at the beginning of the day at the middle school level so that kids can touch base with a staff member, the same one, every morning. In my school, high risk kids are specially paired with staff members with whom they connect well so that someone can keep an eye on them, touch base with them, see how they are doing, and track changes from day to day.

[jellyben]

Both of the middle schools near me are built for 850, but we are so crowded here they are crammed with 1200(I don't know about the third). There are plans to build another, but that is 5 years down the road.

Parents are hopping mad, and I am interested to see if they are just spitting into the wind. From everything I have heard about how these decisions are handled, presenting options to the community is a mere formality-the decision is already made.

I am not sure if the middle school issue is worth getting worked up over. Many parents have come forward with their stories of their kid eating alone for 3 years because they had no friends, but I would hope the majority of kids are more resilient. I hope so, since my own kid will be moving after 5th grade.

[MKSquared]

Originally posted by jellyben
Many parents have come forward with their stories of their kid eating alone for 3 years because they had no friends, but I would hope the majority of kids are more resilient.

Man, middle school's tough as it is - adolescence is not an easy time. Schools need to support their students' social as well as cognitive development, and if students are eating alone for three years, it's not the student's fault. :( :(