The Middle Year Moves

It is well known those early adolescent years are difficult. But perhaps the most challenging and important times may come as adolescents move into middle school – and then beyond it.

Experts say those transition years are important – in fact, a group researching child mental health at UCLA believes they make a critical difference in student success.

“Transition to a new school can be very disruptive to learning and interpersonal relationships,” says Linda Taylor, co-director of the School Mental Health Project in the university’s psychology department. “When transitions go poorly, learning, behavior, and emotional problems can arise and be exacerbated. All this contributes to eventual dropping out of school.”

There has been mounting research showing that a positive transition into middle school is critical for success, and that achievement drops off – often dramatically – in the first year there. Authors of that study believe the year of transition to middle school is the most critical period in a student’s k-12 education.

“There are so many things going on. Getting it right from in that transition year is essential in my opinion,” says Casey Siddons, a former sixth grade social studies teacher and now a consulting teacher in Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools, who has been involved in a number of innovative approaches to ease the transition. “If we don't set the right tone when they first arrive, we are facing problems for the next three years.”

Siddons, a cohost of the education podcast “Eds (Not) Dead” says that not only is it critical to help students adjust to a range of new academic challenges (several classes and teachers, more challenging work, more homework and a flurry of more materials clogging their backpacks and lockers), but to adjust socially.

“You have a mix of students who are new to each other in a lot of ways and are all at different levels of brain development and socialization. There are some boys who are incredibly immature, and girls who are very mature and then go through some very complex socialization issues. A principal I worked with once put it this way: ‘It's a period when at the same time they are fighting over being first in line at lunch, but also thinking about relationships with the opposite sex.’”

Meanwhile other research has indicated that the transition to high school may be equally important.

“More and more of us are realizing that it’s the make or break year for many 14- and 15-year-olds,” Jon Zaff, director of the Center for Promise at Tufts University, told Atlantic magazine. “It’s a time when the cognitive, emotional, and physical are all coming together. The schools are likely new environments, and the students have more autonomy and more homework.”

And unfortunately, researchers have found schools generally don’t make transition years a priority.

“Many schools pay too little attention to providing supports for transitions,” says Taylor. “When this is the case, opportunities are missed for promoting healthy development, addressing barriers to learning, and preventing learning, behavior, and emotional problems. Transition stressors can be barriers to school adjustment and thus learning and teaching.”

So what should schools do? Here are some tips:

Prepare them early. Some school counselors begin the discussion about the move to the next school at the start of the prior year – and provide bits of information throughout, including information about the school, classes, activities and stressors like hazing, lockers, lunch time and how to move around in a bigger building.

Let them ask. One of the most difficult aspects of transitions for these student are the unknowns going into a new school and the questions once they arrive. Some schools have extensive question-and-answer sessions for incoming or new students, while others offer a “hotline” or question box, with questioners kept anonymous and replies announced or posted. One school had all staff wear “ask me” buttons.

Connect with the past. Many schools make an effort to connect with previous teachers and administrators so when a student arrives at the new school their educators are prepared with information about academic and personal strengths and concerns, says Casey Gilewski, an education professor at Coker College in Hartsville, SC, and author of a detailed article about the topic, with extensive links to research about middle school transitions. Some have forms to collect information from previous teachers and others meet them, sometimes to discuss each student individually. In some cases, parents and the student are included in a session, particularly for students with special needs or behavior issues. The process for record transfer is critical too, and can include teacher notes. The key: get good information about the student transitioning.

Show them around. Siddons helped start a summer orientation program for a week at his middle school where students got to know each other, the school and what was expected of them. It included locker practice and a scavenger hunt to find select spots in the building.

Parents too. Sessions for parents can include information about academics, but also can just serve as a thorough, more intimate introduction to the staff, separate from the back-to-school night rush. There should be lots of welcoming messages and invitations for them to be involved, with options about how to.

Get them connected. Students may have an easier time adjusting and fitting in if they are involved in an extracurricular activity or even a lunch-time group where they feel comfortable. A colleague of Siddons’ made a point of opening her room at lunchtime to students who seemed nervous or uncertain about lunchtime protocol. Some schools have used mentoring programs with older students or buddy systems so every student has a connection initially.

Change it up.  Siddons was also the lead teacher in an innovative program called Project Success where two classes of sixth graders in Silver Spring, MD, were with the same teacher for four core courses, then mixed with the rest of the 6th graders for their other four classes. They were carefully selected to reflect the mix of students at the school. Data showed the Project Success students performed dramatically better in the classroom and on tests – and they and their parents reported being happier with the middle school experience. Having homerooms or advisory periods, at least for a time at the start of school, also seems to help, Taylor says.

All hands. Taylor and her colleagues say transition times are easiest when all school personnel make an effort to make new students feel comfortable. One school makes certain that all teachers are in the halls the first week of schools and engaged to see if new students need help – or just to greet them. Some add professional development about transitions to their early sessions, particularly for the teachers in the grade receiving those students.

Keep it up.  “The key is to use multiple activities and to do these activities multiple times throughout the transition years before, during, and after the transition,” says Gilewski. The transition doesn’t just involve the first few days of school – it might last most of the year for some students, especially those moving to high school where the demands increase and the pressure gets higher. Find a way for an advisor or mentor to check in.

Article by Jim Paterson, Education World contributor