The first few weeks of middle school may well be the most critical for young Bellevue School District students. The transition from a fixed homeroom to managing a variety of teaching styles and assignments is probably the greatest challenge for incoming sixth-graders. While the schools may do an excellent job of orienting new students to the physical environment—helping new students navigate the hallways to their various classes and familiarizing them with the resources available to them—students are largely left to their own resources when it comes to making sure they know what their assignments are and how to complete them. As a result, the sudden increase in workload and personal responsibility is more than many can handle. Often this results in a rough transition while our kids figure things out, and some students never manage to develop the organizational strategies essential for their academic success. Failure during this critical period potentially signals much more serious difficulties later on.

One way to ensure success is to take the time to work closely with your sixth-grader to help them develop a system for managing the more complex schedule of middle school. Spend just a few minutes each evening going over their planners to make sure they are confident of the expectations for each class and assignment. Each period should have an assignment or some kind of notation indicating that there is no homework (this is almost as critical as the notation if there IS an assignment). Then read through the directions for each of the assignments they do have and make sure they completely understand what it is they are to do. (I remember hating to read any directions, and oftentimes when I did lose points on an assignment, it was due to neglecting the directions explicitly provided by my teacher.) When they are not clear about their homework, rehearse the words they can use to approach their teachers to clarify. Teachers will generally be more receptive to students whom they perceive as trying to do work thoroughly, and this translates into better overall academic performance. The transition to middle school is exciting. If that initial thrill can be translated into success off the bat, the time spent orienting sixth-graders in these opening weeks will pay dividends throughout their academic careers.