Adding a year in elementary school

[Anonymous]

In Loudoun the 6th graders are in middle school (6-8), but they structure things so that the 6th graders virtually never encounter the 7th and 8th graders outside of the bus and a few extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Loudoun the 6th graders are in middle school (6-8), but they structure things so that the 6th graders virtually never encounter the 7th and 8th graders outside of the bus and a few extracurriculars.

Yes, I think this is true in many middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Our kids did sixth grade as elementary school. I wouldn't recommend it; I wish sixth grade would have been the first year of middle school, for a few reasons.

1. There is a HUGE age and size difference between a kindergartener (5) and a sixth grader (12). Like night and day. My sixth graders would say how teachers would pop into the hallways to tell them (rather angrily) how they were walking too loudly. Why can't you be the like the cute first graders?

2. They would have kindergarteners call them giants, and ask: "Why are you at this school? You're too big!"

3. Not much was happening in sixth grade, learning wise. It was like our kids were marking time, treading water, and reviewing materials from past grades instead of getting that injection of new experiences, and new areas of study, that would have benefitted them tremendously. I remember my sixth graders saying they were so bored.

Yeah, sixth should be middle school. Let's rip the band-aid off, FCPS.

[Anonymous]

As an FCPS parent, I hated having 6th grade in ES. 7 years with the same kids was too much, the kids had physically outgrown the school, and the staff was not at all equipped to deal with the issues and drama of 6th graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS parent, I hated having 6th grade in ES. 7 years with the same kids was too much, the kids had physically outgrown the school, and the staff was not at all equipped to deal with the issues and drama of 6th graders.

Previous poster to your comment, yes< agree wholeheartedly! 12 year olds are adolescents, with all that entails. Hormones, middle school drama, etc.

I remember bringing my sixth graders to school events and getting the evil side eye from some kindergarten moms. Oh, here are those dirty, icky teenagers (to a K mom, 12-year-olds ARE teens) here to corrupt my little one...

Hey, K moms. It isn't my fault that FPCS is making my 12 year old mingle with your 5 year old. I have say in this but if I did, my kid wouldn't be here anymore.

I felt sorry for my kids, who were quietly frustrated that they were now too big and too old physically and developmentally for grade school, but were still there, just waiting to move on to middle school that would have been far more developmentally appropriate for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our kids did sixth grade as elementary school. I wouldn't recommend it; I wish sixth grade would have been the first year of middle school, for a few reasons.

1. There is a HUGE age and size difference between a kindergartener (5) and a sixth grader (12). Like night and day. My sixth graders would say how teachers would pop into the hallways to tell them (rather angrily) how they were walking too loudly. Why can't you be the like the cute first graders?

2. They would have kindergarteners call them giants, and ask: "Why are you at this school? You're too big!"

3. Not much was happening in sixth grade, learning wise. It was like our kids were marking time, treading water, and reviewing materials from past grades instead of getting that injection of new experiences, and new areas of study, that would have benefitted them tremendously. I remember my sixth graders saying they were so bored.

Yeah, sixth should be middle school. Let's rip the band-aid off, FCPS.

I respectfully disagree, I think it forces kids to grow up too quickly. I think kids need to have that kid side of school a little longer. They'll grow up eventually what's the rush

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS parent, I hated having 6th grade in ES. 7 years with the same kids was too much, the kids had physically outgrown the school, and the staff was not at all equipped to deal with the issues and drama of 6th graders.

I know so many ppl who say this yet have no problem with a jr/Sr high combo. Personally I don't think 11 and 12 year old kids should be in a school with 16,17 and 18 yr olds. Plus, I really do think the kids themselves want the chance to be kids a little longer.

[Anonymous]

Middle school is usually awful, why would anyone child or adult want more years of it? Let kids be kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS parent, I hated having 6th grade in ES. 7 years with the same kids was too much, the kids had physically outgrown the school, and the staff was not at all equipped to deal with the issues and drama of 6th graders.

I was in an elementary school that had K-6 and my kids did K-5. While I did have initial apprehension about my 11 year olds going to middle school for 6th, after seeing it both ways, I vastly prefer 6th in middle school.

The comment above about ES not being able to deal with social drama of 6th is spot on. 6th grade was my worst year of school. I did much better with a brand new group of kids and kids in different classes when I finally got to middle school in 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an FCPS parent, I hated having 6th grade in ES. 7 years with the same kids was too much, the kids had physically outgrown the school, and the staff was not at all equipped to deal with the issues and drama of 6th graders.

I was in an elementary school that had K-6 and my kids did K-5. While I did have initial apprehension about my 11 year olds going to middle school for 6th, after seeing it both ways, I vastly prefer 6th in middle school.

The comment above about ES not being able to deal with social drama of 6th is spot on. 6th grade was my worst year of school. I did much better with a brand new group of kids and kids in different classes when I finally got to middle school in 7th.

Don't you feel like 6th grade in middle makes the kids grow up a little bit faster than they have to though?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Middle school is usually awful, why would anyone child or adult want more years of it? Let kids be kids.

+1 FCPS parent and I also lOVED having my kids in ES for an extra year. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but I really appreciate it now. That said, my kid was at an AAP center and I feel like he learned a ton last year. He also wasn’t sick of the kids because he was only with them from 3-6. And with the pandemic, it was really only 2.5 years of the same kids.

The teachers departmentalized and it felt a lot like a middle school for him with switching classes a few times each day and regrouping for specials.

I also am very grateful that he didn’t have to wake up super early last year and will only have to do that horror schedule for 2 not 3 years. FCPS made a great choice moving middle school start times earlier because it only impacts them for 2 years, not 3 or 4.

And, the PP is right middle school is awful, shorten it. By high school, you find your niche, but middle school…. Ugh

[Anonymous]

What do some of you feel like the benefits of Middle school starting at 6th or even 5th are? Or having a middle school at all?

[Anonymous]

My kids started MS as 6th graders and it has been great for them. They had outgrown the baby-ish nature of ES. Being able to change classes and not be stuck with the same small group of kids has been great. There was some 5th grade drama and both girls think that not being with the same kids all day, every day is a good thing and reduces some of that drama. PPs keep saying that this makes kids grow up faster, but my kids had outgrown ES by the time they were done. One of my kids also has 7th and 8th grade friends through her club sport, so there was not this notion of scary 7th and 8th graders. I think 5th is the perfect cut-off for ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Middle school is usually awful, why would anyone child or adult want more years of it? Let kids be kids.

You are not holding your kid back for your kid, you are hold him or her back for you and your own comfort. That isn't what your kid needs, tho. Your kid needs to keep growing toward adulthood. You are raising an adult, not coddling a kid.

[Anonymous]

Parent of 7th and 10th graders here. They were at a middle school in Fairfax that started in 6th grade and I much prefer it that way. My daughter in particular couldn’t stand how the elementary teachers talked to the 5th graders like babies. In 6th it was more about the academics and getting to explore particular interests (like engineering). Having three grades in the school allows the seventh graders to be more confident and relaxed because they’re not new and also not just looking toward high school.