Because they’re at the age where they’ll start telling kindergartners that Santa isnt real.

Anonymous wrote:It’s not really “middle school” in a lot of those cases, they just call it that - I think in some cases it’s as simple as how much space they have in specific buildings or floors, but 4th graders are broadly still treated like 4th graders either way.

I think how kids view themselves ie “I am a middle schooler” is huge. So even if the curriculum is the same, labels matter and it feels like they are shortening the kids childhood in a way

At my child's NYC public elementary starting in 4th grade they split 2 class between 2 teachers. One taught maths and the other taught ELA. I thought that was a good way to have the teachers focus on their subject matter and the kids were old enough to handle the switching of teachers.
What's the point of having teachers replicate the same class plan across the hallway when they can specialize?
They were ready for more of this when middle school started in 6th.

Not from NYC but I'm convinced that taking 6th graders out of elementary is mainly to save money by consolidating them with other grades that need more sophisticated specials (high-quality art, choir, band, orchestra) and math tracking that is just about the last tracking the "equity" districts allow.

I am familiar with some districts starting high-quality music instruction in 4th grade. It's rare where I live. But it takes concerted effort to have full musical ensembles in public schools at that grade level.

It’s not really “middle school” in a lot of those cases, they just call it that - I think in some cases it’s as simple as how much space they have in specific buildings or floors, but 4th graders are broadly still treated like 4th graders either way.

Is there a reason why some top tier schools start Middle School as early as 4th grade? With 5th grade as the average start year? Where I’m from middle school starts in 6th grade.