Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion 6th grade in elementary or MS?

We have K4 through 2 in one building, 3-5 in another, 6-8 in the middle school, and 9-12 in the high school.

The system works well for us, especially because the fifth-graders have a system where they switch classes on certain days, preparing them for the same in middle school. The teachers are really gentle and watchful when dealing with sixth-graders, and there's also a discipline/reward program only for them.

My concern would be how your daughter would adapt to the organizational changes. My brother currently in fifth grade has been greatly helped by the "MS Prep," as they call it, and I think he may have been overwhelmed by the demands of middle school without the program. Maybe only having two years to fully work through navigating middle school and preparing for high school would be a problem with your child; I really don't know.

I think it really, really depends on the school and how it supports the children. Here's a comparison from a different country (Scotland, independent sector):

The Pre-Prep is nursery (3+) and P1-P3 (age at start of P1 is 4.5-5.5, so this is 4-7yos) in one building, with one teacher for almost everything and lots of play built in;

The Prep, or Upper School, P4-P8bis (age 7-13yos) in a collection of other buildings, with a different teacher for almost every subject, a timetable, going round the school for different lessons prompted by bells, school day running 8.30am-6pm. Yes, all that for 7yos; it takes them a little getting used to, but the teachers are supportive and they are fine! (It is a small school, 300 in all, which helps - none of the rooms are more than 5 minutes walk, they get to know most of the other students by sight.)

I believe I've been over-thinking this. (Me? Shocking, I know!) I've been trying to figure out what the best situation is in general, for all the kids, when all I really need to worry about is what's best for DD7 when she gets there.

I think she would be fine either way. She's pretty good with organization and remembering things. And if she needs acceleration at that point, the school is good about making it happen regardless of which building one is in.

It's fascinating to see all of your different models, though!

We have k-5, 6-8, and 9-12. My oldest is in 6th and it has been a great transition for him. It's a very nurturing environment and the school generally separates the 6th graders from the 7-8 graders, which I think helps with the maturity aspect of it. DS has really taken on more responsibility for himself and his school work. I prefer the negatives of having 6th graders with 7th and 8th graders than the negatives of having Kindergarteners with 6th graders.

I'm now prepared to follow up on my previous post, based on a conversation with DD8 this weekend. She's in the G/T program in her elementary school, which means a daily pull-out for math with one G/T teacher, another for language arts, and the rest of her day (less than half) spent unproductively at a grade-level homeroom, where she does science and social studies at what seems to her to be a glacial pace.

We were batting around the idea of creating our own school, when DD proposed that she'd prefer a model in which she'd have one gifted teacher each for math, language arts, social studies, and science. She'd go to each of those classes at the prescribed times, and never have to muck around with a homeroom that had nothing to offer her.

I told her she'd just described my experience in junior high, so consider hers a vote for middle school as early as possible. She's a fourth grader, and ready to start middle school now.

Our school does segregate pretty well -- K-2 are in one hallway, and 3-5 are in another, and their recesses and lunches are at different times, so they really only run into each other on the way in and out of school. I'm not sure what the plan is for 6th if they include it with elementary. The new construction plans have changed a number of times, so I'm not clear on what's being built where.

MS/HS are in different parts of that building, with about the same setup, though some teachers have both MS and HS classes and there is some inevitable mixing there. Their lockers are in the different hallways, and lunches are staggered.

Our school district has PreK-4 as elementary, 5th-6th as Intermediate (in it's own building) 7th-9th as Middle School (in it's own building) and 10th-12th as High School (in it's own building)

I like this separation a great deal and find it works well. We're in an unusual district though in that all of the buildings Pre-K through 12th grade are all on once campus with 5 elementary schools, 1 Intermediate school, 1 Middle School, and the HS plus the local community college right across the street...which makes it amazing for the HS students to schedule in duel credit courses.

My daughter went to a K-8, where the 6-8 was a "small" middle school. 6th grade rotated classes same as the older students. Because the middle school was small, and the younger kids were also at the same school it kept most of the kids more innocent.

My son attended 6th grade in the elementary. (Because it was where the pullout GT program was.) It was a total disaster, but that was not all because it was a K-6. He was really frustrated being stuck in "little" kids school having to follow rules set up for the younger kids.

Personally, I went to a 6-8 middle school and this feels normal for me. At that school, the 6th graders didn't mix much with the older kids. I think there are pro's & con's. Our school district had planned to move 6th to the junior high's and then backed out of that decision. For a gifted child, I think it's a good thing because more challenging classes might be available. And teachers might be subject trained, rather than be "general" teachers.

Not matter what you do, 6th grade is still full of preteens. They are still going to be at a very awkward age socially. It really depends on how the school handles it.

Old Dad, that is awesome! We're all together from K to 12 on one campus (preschool is a couple of blocks away), but the community college is about 15 miles away, and the 4-year college is an hour away. I'd love to have the college across the street!