The transition from elementary school to middle school is not a small one for students. The change of going from one teacher in one classroom all day to multiple teachers and changing classes in a new and potentially larger environment, mixed with the start of puberty, can cause stress and anxiety for a lot of adolescents.
A new partnership between the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) and the National Association of Elementary School Principals aims to support that transition between the two grade bands. This partnership will strategically “elevate and empower middle level education leaders nationwide,” the two groups announced in a press release last week.
The elementary to middle school transition looks different for every student, and it’s up to teachers to help them navigate it, said Katie Powell, the director for middle level programs at AMLE.
“This [partnership] is an opportunity for us to stand together in support of the educators we serve so that those educators can have what they need to meet the needs of kids,” said Powell.
Students experience rapid changes during middle school
Chiefs for Change, a bipartisan organization of district and state education leaders, released a report in 2022 outlining the different ways students can change when transitioning from elementary to middle school.
Socially, middle schoolers feel a greater need to belong and model the behavior of their older peers. Emotionally, they might experience more mood swings or feel a greater need to be independent. Physically, middle schoolers might face issues with their changing body size and shape.
“Lots of students are very successful in making the transition, as long as the environment [and educators] they’re moving into [and working with] really understand their developmental needs,” said Joanna William, senior director of research at Search Institute, an organization that studies frameworks and tools impacting youth development. William was a speaker during a recent webinar hosted by the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent.
But an additional barrier educators should consider is the lingering effects of the pandemic. Students entering middle school this fall and next are the ones who started elementary school during the height of COVID-19, which brings a new set of challenges, experts said during the webinar.
Rhonda Boyd, emeritus associate professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, said there are four main ways students were impacted by the disruption of the pandemic:
- Their parents may have experienced financial or health challenges;
- Students who already had preexisting mental health symptoms may have gone untreated;
- Students who had limited home internet access may have connected less with their peers and teachers; and
- Students who had a negative experience at school might have then developed a preference for learning at home.
Some of those experiences might shape how incoming middle schoolers respond to the transition.
“We are given an opportunity to support them as they learn and grow—to offer support from adults, offer safe environments for them and help them manage stressors and mistakes so that they can foster their mental health,” Boyd said.
Educators have a unique challenge ahead
Powell said the middle school model combines educators who have different backgrounds and skill sets.
For example, a middle school teacher who previously taught elementary grades may have an easier time running small groups and differentiating instruction, whereas a teacher with a secondary background may have greater expertise in a specific subject area.
If each educator has a different model of instruction, this can impact students, said Powell.
“Our buildings are strongest when we have people coming, regardless of background, with an appreciation for and willingness to learn about the unique needs of middle school students and bring the best of both worlds together to meet those needs,” she said.
Xavier Reed, the principal of Maple Grove Middle School in Maple Grove, Minn., who is also a director at large representing middle school principals at NAESP, has learned the importance of outreach when it comes to school transitions.
When students are a part of a school for six or seven years, like at the elementary level, they and their families become very connected to teachers, the principal, cafeteria staff, and custodians, said Reed.
The Maple Grove Middle School principal will visit 5th graders throughout the academic year to start creating a sense of connection and familiarity with students. Staff, like a counselor or the assistant principal, will join Reed in his visits. “We try to have visits at the elementary where we’re walking around and talking to students,” said Reed. “We invite families into our building, and [we] try to do that more than once.”
Additionally, the student-to-student connection is helpful in the transition, and schools can facilitate this as well, said Reed. Maple Grove Middle School has a mentorship program where 8th graders work with 6th graders throughout the year helping them adjust to the new school environment and build relationships, he said.
“Child development is an extremely interesting and complex topic,” Powell said. “It’s not enough to know your content and be a good teacher, but you also need to be a student of your students and understand their needs so that you’re crafting instructional and community experiences for students that adequately meet their needs.”
