A school we know had a big 8th grade trip that made kids not want to leave after 7th. Covid may have ruined that though.

There was definitely a mixed bag of emotions for 8th grade parents. Some were happy with the close knit class, big graduation, trip, leadership. Others thought the stress of applying out wasn't always worth staying. I think it depends on the family, future high school prospects and kid.

It would be easier to stay through 8th if it were easier to get into the next step high schools. As demand for "Big 3" increases, parents are going to be even more anxious.

I think you have to decide what kind of K-8 you want to be. If you're going for small, nurturing, special needs friendly, great for the late bloomer/shy/immature/spectrummy/parents-in-SPED-denial kind of situation, then try to really shine at that, and shine at matching kids to the right high school *for them* and managing parents' emotions about that. If you're prepping bright and capable kids to have strong high school options, that's a different kind of school. It's very hard to do both at once.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

"Your kid can't have challenging work because we need to conceal other kids' low performance" is not going to be a compelling argument to retain people.

Neither is "We've educated your kid since K, but did a bad job so they're now on the third track. Please continue to pay tuition even though we've tracked your kid out of the high schools you want them to attend"

Why do you go there, then?

A good school might be able to enroll everyone in nominally the same class and differentiate within it, so that your kid's low performance goes undisclosed. The teacher recs could clarify what content was taught to the above-grade kids.

At least that conceals the failure from the parents. The second you tell parents that their kid is on a lower track, they are going to ask why. If the kid has been there since K, you better have a good answer. Most schools would prefer the question never get asked

Our K-8 has a huge bulge of preschool and middle school students because we are known for excellent high school placement. Most kids get into their first choice high school. It is the elementary classes that are small because the public elementary options are considered good.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

"Your kid can't have challenging work because we need to conceal other kids' low performance" is not going to be a compelling argument to retain people.

Neither is "We've educated your kid since K, but did a bad job so they're now on the third track. Please continue to pay tuition even though we've tracked your kid out of the high schools you want them to attend"

Why do you go there, then?

A good school might be able to enroll everyone in nominally the same class and differentiate within it, so that your kid's low performance goes undisclosed. The teacher recs could clarify what content was taught to the above-grade kids.

I think if middle school attrition and the bad cycle it creates is a problem, a slightly bigger class size in 3rd-4th can help. That way you won't have to backfill as much to reach your target middle school class sizes. Make a mini entry year in 3rd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

"Your kid can't have challenging work because we need to conceal other kids' low performance" is not going to be a compelling argument to retain people.

Neither is "We've educated your kid since K, but did a bad job so they're now on the third track. Please continue to pay tuition even though we've tracked your kid out of the high schools you want them to attend"

Bummer. But maybe manipulating the curriculum to conceal low performance isn't the answer?

Our school has kept us there with excellent MS teachers who are able to reach kids at many levels. By the end, both kids felt like they could use a little more challenge, but both were very prepared academically for 9th at Big 3 (and more than most of the rising kids who had been in MS at the Big 3). The k-8 also provided much more education outside of pure academics in MS than what the Big 3 had to offer. No regrets.

I think the lesson is to have strong teachers and a strong program overall - but it has to be married to strong placement for those families that are eagle eye on Big 3 or Big 5 etc. We cared more about match - it just happened to be at Big 3 schools and our children were admitted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

"Your kid can't have challenging work because we need to conceal other kids' low performance" is not going to be a compelling argument to retain people.

Neither is "We've educated your kid since K, but did a bad job so they're now on the third track. Please continue to pay tuition even though we've tracked your kid out of the high schools you want them to attend"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

"Your kid can't have challenging work because we need to conceal other kids' low performance" is not going to be a compelling argument to retain people.

I think they need to keep selling themselves to current families. They should be having info sessions during the application times for current families to describe what they are offering to upper grade kids. People may not have focused on what the offering are for 7th and 8th graders when their kids were in PK. I actually volunteered at an upper grades admissions open house because I wanted to hear the speal and there was no good way to figure it out as a current family.

Anonymous wrote:Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

The more a k-8 differentiates, the more parents of kids who are on bottom tracks wonder if they are getting their money's worth. I would not want to be applying to high schools and having to explain why my kid was on the third of three tracks in english

Anonymous wrote:Look at your offerings in math, science, and language. How do they compare to well-regarded public schools in the area? Are your alumni getting in to the better math, science, and language options in 9th grade? A survey of recent alumni will be enlightening.

Look also at your sports and activities. Those are a chance to provide quality and prep your kids for high school. Pick a sport or two where a small school can shine and maybe compete against other schools or clubs. Little kids are fine with pretty casual DIY sports but bigger kids want to sink their teeth into something more demanding. Are you treating your middle schoolers like tall elementary school kids? Or are you treating them like the future 9th graders that they are?

Every kid who wants to be serious plays club sports. To the extent that high schools recruit, they look at club players not CYO or independent school leagues.

Pick a path to offer advanced offerings. Either be Humanities or STEM focused as a school. I just think more families would be interested. Of course, some don't want the pressure and they'll move on. We didn't freak out about HS. We welcomed the process and enjoyed it.

Look at your offerings in math, science, and language. How do they compare to well-regarded public schools in the area? Are your alumni getting in to the better math, science, and language options in 9th grade? A survey of recent alumni will be enlightening.

Look also at your sports and activities. Those are a chance to provide quality and prep your kids for high school. Pick a sport or two where a small school can shine and maybe compete against other schools or clubs. Little kids are fine with pretty casual DIY sports but bigger kids want to sink their teeth into something more demanding. Are you treating your middle schoolers like tall elementary school kids? Or are you treating them like the future 9th graders that they are?