Promoting a Successful Transition to Middle School

Patrick Akos, Christopher Lineberry, J. Allen Queen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781138135574
• eBook ISBN: 9781317919155
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

With detailed examples of best practices from middle schools across the country, this book features research-based strategies and suggestions for transition programs. It covers the roles of school principals, counselors, classroom teachers, and the central office.

1

An Overview of School Transitions

It is evident that educators are aware of the importance of school transitions by the way each school seems to find an event to welcome new arrivals. Elementary schools have Beginners’ Days for entering kindergartners and their parents each spring. Middle schools welcome field trips of rising sixth graders. High schools conduct open houses and registration nights for rising ninth graders. Many colleges and universities welcome new freshmen with a special seminar during the summer or a few days before the sophomores, juniors, and seniors return. And all educational institutions—be they daycare centers, elementary, middle, high schools, or universities—mark the transition of their graduates with pomp and circumstance. Students, parents, and staff celebrate with pride, smiles, and tears over leaving the past and fears about the future. Schools cannot function effectively without planning these ceremonial tributes to transition. The school community would not allow it. Although parents and educators may have the best of intentions, some students get lost forever in transition.¹

A variety of interpretations exist as to the meaning of transition in the educational process. To some, transitions reflect a one-time set of activities undertaken by programs, families, and children at the end of the year. To others, transitions reflect ongoing efforts to link children’s natural environments to school environments. Last, others define transition as the manifestation of the developmental principles of continuity, that is, creating pedagogical, curricular, and/or disciplinary approaches that transcend and continue between programs.² Kraft-Sayre and Pianta (2000) defined transitions as the process that all partners experience as students move from one level to the next, rather than a single event that happens to a child. Regardless of the focal point, transitions are increasingly being recognized as critical periods in the movement through public education in the United States.³

All schools, regardless of level, have a vested interest in improving the transitions of students both into and out of the institution, yet few schools offer more than a single transitional event for incoming and outgoing students.⁵ The school community demands a ceremony, but the academic achievement and social-emotional health of students demand more.

Communication and Planning

Communication and planning are essential to all successful transitions, no matter what age, developmental level, or type of school. Communication must involve all relevant parties: the sending school or agency and appropriate staff, the receiving school and staff, parents, and students.⁶ All involved parties need to communicate openly and honestly about their concerns, needs, and desires. Cross-level communication is neither common nor easy to accomplish.

What the Researchers Have Discovered

• Children who do not make effective transitions will be less successful in school, have difficulties making friends, and may be vulnerable to mental health problems.

• A child’s transition to school creates a foundation for future academic, social-emotional, and behavioral development.

• Sixth graders show a statistically significant achievement loss after the transition to middle school compared with sixth graders attending K-8 schools with no such transition.

• Ninth graders entering high school experience academic achievement losses regardless of whether they attend a middle or K-8 school; those who attend middle school, and thus experience two transitions within a three-year span, experience even more severe losses.

• Students who experience a higher number of transitions are more likely to drop out of high school.

• A large number of students who drop out of school are of average or above-average intelligence.

• Many of the factors associated with dropping out of college relate to transitions from a non-middle-class lifestyle to a university lifestyle.

• Special education students at all levels experience academic and social difficulties in adjustment as they make transitions throughout their educational careers.

• Successful students have at least one adult who cares about their personal success.

• A sharp decline has been seen in the percentage of students who complete college, marry, start a family, and reach financial independence from their parents.⁴

Communication in Effective Transitions

• Developmentally appropriate involvement of and communication with students regarding their concerns and how those concerns relate to their future school setting

• Curriculum and program alignment across school levels, which requires communication between the sending and receiving schools

• Communication between the school and parents concerning curricula, school schedules and procedures, and developmental concerns⁷

Once communications have been established among all of the relevant parties, an effective plan for transition can be created. Creating effective communication and plans resulting from that communication can involve a great deal of time. Beyond the time spent planning, however, implementation of an effective transition can take the better part of the terminal year, with the cooperation of the sending institution.⁸

A Snapshot of Transition Issues

Kindergarten

Although developmental psychologists have written extensively on school entry, less research has addressed the overall effect of successful transition programs for kindergarten.⁹ Most researchers have focused on the effects of transition on academic achievement, ignoring the broader ramifications of a kindergartner’s first year of school on his or her social and emotional health. However, a growing body of research may provide guidance for educators as they plan and implement transition programs for incoming kindergartners.

Transition researchers at all levels have found losses in academic achievement as students progress through their first year in a new school.¹⁰ At the primary level, researchers have provided educators with a strong rationale for the importance of continuity in the transition from early childhood to school-age settings. Academic achievement at the kindergarten level is widely attributed to early intervention programs; however, some researchers have shown these initial cognitive gains fade as students move through the primary grades. In the National Head Start Demonstration study, Bohan-Baker and Little (2002) suggested that local commitments to effective transition between local sites appear to combat the “fade-out effect” with respect to student achievement.¹¹ Additionally, Ramey and Ramey (1999) found that children who received additional environmental support as they moved into and through kindergarten and the early elementary grades performed better in reading and math.¹²

Some ingredients of a successful transition to kindergarten are completely within the control of the local school. Schools that create classroom settings that are developmentally appropriate, child centered, and well managed are more likely to observe successful transitions to the formal school setting. These successful transitions can then translate into an educational future that includes higher academic achievement, more prosocial behaviors, and improved attitudes toward school.¹³

Other ingredients of a successful transition to kindergarten require a broader base of communication and planning. Pianta, Cox, Taylor, and Early (1999) reported the key ingredient is the relationship created between home and school. These researchers suggest that frequent, regular communication between home and school creates trust and mutual responsibility for a child’s educational development.¹⁴ Kagan and Neuman (1998) suggested adding early care providers to the groups that plan and implement successful kindergarten transitions. They indicate that if schools communicate with daycare and prekindergarten schools regarding curricular concerns, students will be better prepared to make the transition to kindergarten.¹⁵ Mangione and Speth (1998) provided evidence that broad-based partnerships among homes, schools, and the broader community can help to create effective kindergarten programs that ease transitions for children. They suggest that shared leadership and open communication can improve the process.¹⁶

Transition to kindergarten cannot be planned after the fact. A week after school begins may be too late. School is one of the most profound influences on a child’s life, and, because kindergarten sets the tone for a child’s entire school career, it is essential that successful transition plans be created and implemented effectively. Long-term orientation programs beyond the traditional Beginners’ Day, such as home visits by teachers and other school staff and buddy programs with older students, have all demonstrated effectiveness with individual students. Each elementary school needs to find the right approach that fits each individual student and distinct school context.

Middle School

The topic of successful transition—both the transition from elementary school to middle school and the transition from middle school to high school—has become a topic of interest in education during the last 30 years. Students, teachers, and parents are all concerned about the transition from elementary to middle school. Students express concerns about gettin...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication and Acknowledgements
• About the Authors
• 1 An Overview of School Transitions
• 2 The Developmental Transition of Starting Middle School
• 3 The Systemic and Ecological Transition in Starting Middle School
• 4 Important Themes in the Transition into Middle School
• 5 Activities and Strategies for Implementing Transition Programs
• 6 How Educators Can Ease the Transition
• References