Switching schools in 7th grade a terrible idea?

[Anonymous]

I moved when I was in 7th and it was definitely hard. I remember going to a giant cafeteria and not knowing anyone. It was overwhelming.

I have 3 kids. My oldest had a less than stellar experience in middle school right after Covid where he quit a sport he played his whole life and also quit a second sport he played his whole life. He ended up getting back to his second sport and is now playing in high school. I really was concerned about my child’s mental health in middle school.

We forced our second son to switch to private school in middle school and he wanted to return to his elementary school friends in public school. We eventually let him go back and now he has a completely new set of friends in the public high school.

I’m convinced middle school is a bad time for most kids. I would not let this stop you from moving.

I hear of stories of friend group shifting, bullying, being left out, etc even if you are moving from elementary to middle school in same pyramid.

[Anonymous]

If it’s at the start of the year, I think a friendly kid will adapt quickly. The kids don’t move as a group in each subject year to year. While some kids will be with friends, many kids will not. My son was at his middle school for 3 years but he made new friends each time his schedule changed. Some semesters he didn’t start with friends in all his classes.

[Anonymous]

It’s ok to move now. Does your son do a sport? That would help him meet kids at the new school. Or get him involved in something outside of school, like martial arts or whatever.
MS in most places combined kids from different schools. It doesn’t sound like he’s optimized currently so a switch may turn out to be great for him. He will have a fresh start in the new school.

[Anonymous]

My son not only transferred from one independent school to another, he did a second year in 7th grade. Best decision ever.

[Anonymous]

I think most dcps and charter schools cannot handle adhd…so if you are switching schools for that reason I would be sure to speak with parents at the new school to learn about the environment. Our kiddos adhd got even worse in 7th… and we are switching going into 8th because I believe the teacher environment (positive encouraging teaching) is even more important than the social environment and our kiddo is super social.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid started a new school in 7th. It was a bit hard because most of the others started in 6th, but he had a small crew of friends within a few months. He is very shy, but it all turned out ok.

+1 same scenario. He has a solid group of close friends from HS that still hang out when they come home from college.

[Anonymous]

If you are moving for better jobs, more money, better quality of life- do it. All these things will ultimately benefit your child. He’ll adjust to a new school. Sure, it might be hard,
But it might not. It’s ok for kids to experience discomfort and learn to move on from it and make the best of things. It’s fine.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! We aren’t moving for reasons other than more space (and better schools?), so that’s what makes this a hard decision. It sounds like it might turn out okay, but I’m really kicking myself for not thinking about a move in elementary when it might have been easier.