Our school has 6th grade in Middle School with 7th and 8th. They are considering moving it to the elementary next year, and have sent home surveys about it. I'm not really sure what I think.

I went to 6th as part of elementary, and 7th and 8th were Junior High back then. I certainly think my life would have been worse in 6th grade if it had been in the Junior High -- 7th grade was bad enough! I went to a church school in 8th grade to escape from it, but then went to the regular High School.

My DS11 skipped 6th grade, although technically he was in mostly 6th grade classes during 5th last year. I don't know if it would have made any difference to him if it had been in the elementary.

The school is all on one campus -- elementary is in one building, MS/HS in another with some outbuildings as well, and after the construction they are starting in January, the elementary will be connected by hallway to the rest -- the cafeteria is for everyone, and the little kids have to go outside to get to it for lunch now.

Any thoughts on the subject? DD7 won't be worrying about it for several years.

I would not want 6th in with 7/8. To me, 5 and 6 are upper elementary and should be treated as such. Our district is a little unusual. We have 5 elementary schools that go K-4. In 5th grade, all 5 of the schools come together in one building that is called the 5th grade house. Then for 6th, they move to another building that stands alone and is called the 6th grade house. 7 and 8th grade come together at the Middle School and then 9-12 are housed at the High School.

I like it this way.

It depends on the specific school and how nurturing the environment is. In a small nurturing environment, it is great to have the 6th graders with the older kids because it allows for mentoring and it allows for more advancement and differentiation because the proximity often allows the 6th grader to take above level classes. In a different environment, the 6th grader can be bullied or exposed to some really negative things...

Strictly from a selfish standpoint I like the middle school model (6th with 7th and 8th) because it opens the curriculum earlier such that algebra instruction in 6th is a prospect and other possibilities for bridging higher. Also, that follows the IB middle years.

My kids have done both within the same school system (the school moved its 6th grade from at K-6 model to a K-5, 6-12 model) and it has worked fine both ways. From my experience it is a matter of the school environment as a whole. From what I have seen, there are definitely differences in "sophistication" between 6th grade students based on where they go to school, but I haven't seen a correlation with whether 6th grade is elementary school versus middle school so much as how large the school is, how involved the parents are in the school, and especially what the particular group of kids within a grade at said school just happens to be like. YMMV. Too, we have done subject acceleration with my kids in both situations and it has worked either way. Our situation was like yours, though, where the elementary and middle/high school were essentially on the same campus.

I think two things to consider are these:
1) If it is K-6, are the 6th graders protected from exposure to a more "sophisticated" culture? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
2) If it is K-5, are the 6th graders ready for the increased responsibility and challenge that comes from a different teacher for every class and more autonomy? Some kids are very ready for this while others have a big adjustment that requires more guidance.

Since junior high was the first time I was presented with effective ability grouping, I would have welcomed it a year earlier with open arms.

For my DD8, I would have to look at what accommodations she's receiving at the elementary school level (which are finally pretty good), and compare that to what's available to her in the middle school, before making up my mind.

Before I can answer that, I'd want to know:
How would foreign language, music, performance, service, athletic, and club opportunities change?

What is the tone of the middle school, one that is supportive of differences, works to teach another path through "mean girl" years, and works to develops an adolescent's sense of self?

What are the needs of your population? One for more differentiation that can handle multiple teachers and the organizational demands of middle school, or a general population that needs an extra year of nurturing with a smaller cohort and fewer adults to answer to?

What does the leadership of the elementary school and middle school look like? Is there a better fit with one principal than another?

A lot of good ideas, and good questions -- thank you!

I don't think I really have an opinion -- which is unusual for me, as I usually have several opinions on everything! It all amounts to the same thing, though, in the end.

My DS 10 in 5th grade goes to private middle school, it is 5th -8th grade all together. It works great for us. There was some adjustment. He was 2 years accelerated in math and reading/LA in 1st-3rd so he was used to switching classes a bit. Being in middle school he gets to go to morning math classes 2 times a week and to math counts at night once a week, which is all the kids that want to attend from 5th - 8th. The sports are grouped 5-6, 7-8.

In our district we have k-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12 buildings with dds school being the exception as a k-6.
I like 5-6 being in their own building. It is a tender time of life where behaviorally kids can go down the wrong path, it is nice to have them all harbored together with teachers trained to deal with their emotional needs.

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!