My DS is in 7th grade, so the 2nd year of middle school. I think middle school has been a huge improvement over elementary school. Part of the reason is that we chose a magnet school. The school specializes in science/engineering which is my son's "thing". Our middle school also offers an opportunity for HS math classes and this year DS is taking HS Honors Algebra I. Next year he will take HS Honors Geometry. Foreign language is also available at the HS level. Attending this middle school grouped him with kids that shared his passion in science and allowed him to join clubs, robotics, rocketry, secme, math, etc. which put him in touch with kids that were more along his ability level. No necessarily, gifted, but accademically advanced in those subjects. Even if you don't have magnet schools in your area, the middle school probably does offer clubs that will tend to group kids together that have the same common interests and want to explore that subject area deeper.
