Anonymous wrote:I'm moving my kids across country this summer who will be starting 7th. They will be going to a 7th/8th and then the feeder high school. This is the best time to move. Once they start middle, do not do it. It's much harder. I say this as a mom, and as a person who was moved by my parents in the middle of 8th grade and hated it, and a current middle school teacher.

But moving in the middle of 8th grade, right before HS, is very different than moving between 6th and 7th, even if the MS is 6/7/8 instead of just 7/8.

I agree that moving between schools is easiest, because that's when feeders combine so a new kid won't stick out among the sea of new faces that every kid will encounter. Moving between 6th and 7th seems not as ideal, but also probably not horrible for a well adjusted kid who makes friends fairly easily. I also think how a move impacts kids in this age range can depend a bit on when they hit puberty in earnest and how it's going for them. I could see a move right before 7th being beneficial for some kids who might embrace the chance to reinvent themselves a little after going through awkward puberty years elsewhere. I could also see it being incredibly hard for a kid starting puberty late and entering a school full of kids who just seem a lot older and more mature in addition to being unfamiliar.

I think it's a kid-dependent thing and that your experience moving mid-8th is not the most representative example of how kids do with middle school moves.

I'm moving my kids across country this summer who will be starting 7th. They will be going to a 7th/8th and then the feeder high school. This is the best time to move. Once they start middle, do not do it. It's much harder. I say this as a mom, and as a person who was moved by my parents in the middle of 8th grade and hated it, and a current middle school teacher.

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.

My kid made new friends every year in middle school because she would have new classes with new people. If you’re moving to a decently sized school, I would imagine this happens a lot.

I’m about to move my 8th grader and no, I would not do this unless it was totally necessary.

I think it’s fine and a good time to move. I had two kids move at the 7th grade mark to a new school where they knew no one and it was pretty smooth.

But we didn’t physically move- so my kids didn’t have the transition of everything, like yours will.

OP here again: yes, I mean we would move once, not again for HS. I wouldn’t say he’s doing great socially but I guess he’s not being bullied that I know of. He talks to kids in class and gets invited to things once or maybe twice a year but otherwise never sees anyone outside of school. His current school has tons of kids and he has had some issues with getting into trouble (nothing serious — inattention issues mostly) and I wouldn’t say he likes the school either, but a lot of his complaints are ones that probably many public schools suffer from (boring, not engaging, rules).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: Not in Fairfax currently and no — it would be a totally different middle and high school.

IMO it doesn’t make sense to move to a new school for just 2 years, then another new school (with all new kids for 9th grade) after that. Sounds like is doing fine socially and academically at his current school, which is really all you can ask for when it comes to the middle school years. IME. It can potentially be such an awful time.

Depends how important to you a move would be right now.!

Agree with this take. So many kids have trouble socially in middle school. If your kid is doing well now, no reason to change that unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: Not in Fairfax currently and no — it would be a totally different middle and high school.

IMO it doesn’t make sense to move to a new school for just 2 years, then another new school (with all new kids for 9th grade) after that. Sounds like is doing fine socially and academically at his current school, which is really all you can ask for when it comes to the middle school years. IME. It can potentially be such an awful time.

Depends how important to you a move would be right now.!

DP but I think OP is saying they would not be to a new school pyramid, so a new MS and then follow into feeder HS (which is not their current HS).

We are contemplating a similar move between 6th and 7th OP. A major reason is that we'd like to move to a MS with a much better HS feed. I know for us, a factor is that if we stay in the current middle school, we will be looking at private or public magnets for high school (or moving to new boundary), and want to avoid current feeder. If we move, DD could attend the rest of MS and HS with the same cohort. If we stay, she will almost definitely be shifting to a different cohort in 9th. So in our case, I think it makes sense to move now even though I know it will be a hard time to start at a new school. DD is similar to your DS -- makes friends easily, very social, but no deep friendships through school (she is very close to two same age cousins though).

Anonymous wrote:OP: Not in Fairfax currently and no — it would be a totally different middle and high school.

IMO it doesn’t make sense to move to a new school for just 2 years, then another new school (with all new kids for 9th grade) after that. Sounds like is doing fine socially and academically at his current school, which is really all you can ask for when it comes to the middle school years. IME. It can potentially be such an awful time.

Depends how important to you a move would be right now.!

I moved before 7th grade and early in 8th grade.

I was able to make friends at both schools.

I didn't like the first school (Frost, MCPS) and I liked the second (PA).

I was bullied at both. I was a good kid on the honors track.

My nephews have moved recently...one is in middle school and one in high school.

All things considered, it's best to move in time for starting 9th grade. And you can't know how it will turn out. There are a lot of factors.

OP: Not in Fairfax currently and no — it would be a totally different middle and high school.

What are your plans for high school? Would this new school feed into his intended HS (and current one does not)? Or do both? Neither?

Are you local? Middle school in FCPS is 7th-8th so everyone is attending a new school for 7th. Middle school is hard, generally, but depending on the system it may not be a problem to be new.

We are looking to move based on a variety of factors, but we don’t absolutely have to move. One of the reasons we are hesitating is because we have a rising 7th grader and I’m worried he will be miserable starting at a school where everyone already has friends. We are not that impressed with his current school and while he doesn’t have any deep or serious friendships there, he at least is familiar and friendly with the neighborhood kids. I would say he’s talkative and makes “friends” in school but it doesn’t translate to hanging out outside of school. Would love some insights for people who have gone through it.