When Are We Supposed to Start Screening for Middle Schools?

I kept in mind that we were fortunate to have good schools close to our home.. Not always "Perfect" but very good. I decided that having her and her friends close by would be good for our family and for her, so that I would not be driving her all over town to visit, to go to study groups etc..

I also vowed that I would be involved in these schools, so again, I needed this to be in our area.

To attend the prestigious Middle school our daughter would either have to ride a bus, or have me drive her, which would mean instead of being able to sleep until 7:30.. She would have to be outside waiting for the bus at 6::00.. This would not have worked for our child..

Same when it came to High School. She qualified to go to the Prestigious High school, but 4 years of her having to get up so early.. along with all of her classmates living so far away, was going to be too stressful on all of us. Plus, once she started driving, I did not want her to be in the heavy morning highway traffic going to school each morning.

Keep an eye and ear out about the schools in your area. Look at your child and figure out what type of environment would be best for HER.. Then take into consideration your families lifestyle and where would she be happiest.

There was a lot more activities once they get into middle school, but once in High School, it is a nonstop activity each week before or after school.

As long as you also stay involved with your child's schools, I promise your child will do well.

I would seriously consider your neighbourhood school. Preferably within walking distance for your child. I think it important for a child to be a part of the community in which they live, to make friends with the children in their community, to have the freedom to walk to and from school. Life is too short to waste time with a long commute by bus or car every day, there and back. Our kids take tours of the local middle schools in grade five before registration takes place.

I'd go with the better school district vs the school being in your area. That is the advantage of MI being school of choice. But I would also plan on not moving her again. So find a middle school that you like the high school as well and go with that.

As for the middle school starting at grade 7, can you have attend the attached elementary or prior school to the middle school. That way she'd get at head start on meeting some friends.

Wow-I have never heard of school of choice. Can't imagine how you bus for that! Anyhow...I have 2 thoughts.
You know your kid best-does she make friends easy or is she more shy. Does she have a wide social circle or a select few 'good' friend?. This would be what I would use to help me. A shyer child will do better with familiar friends. I do not downplay the importance of this as I have seen it in action with my own son. But I also think a good school is important so if she would do OK then send her to the better school. SInce everyone is in the same boat it seems like it wouldn't be as tough as a transition b/c more kids would be looking to make new friends.

Your best resource will be other MI parents. Don't be shy to ask opinions from people-many would be glad to help you I am sure.

Why wouldn't she just attend her local public middle and high school? I have only heard of visiting and interviewing for private schools, not public.
Unless the school is in a really bad/dangerous neighborhood it should be just fine.
Don't you want her going to school close to home, where it will be easy to get to and from school, where she can have friends that live nearby, where she can join in sports and other activities?
If you don't know enough about the local schools why not start learning about them now. You have two years to figure this out!

Around here you go to the school within the boundary of where the district says you go. Of course there are times that a child is moved to another school and IF that is done, there is a process with the ISD of applications, fees and valid reasons why.

We have great schools here. Middlle schools have an average of students who merge from 4 elementary schools in that boundary, then the high school (grades 9-10) has middle school merge from about 3 middle schools in the area and then they are districted for 1 of 3 Sr high schools grades 11-12.

That said, if your daughter is in 3rd grade, the dynamics of the "best" school in your area very could change.

Our daughter currently attends the "best" Sr high school in the area and the boundaries just changed where the children in my neighborhood will go to another Sr hih school when thay are old enough. I have neigbors complaining now that their children won't go to the "best" and they have a hard time understanding that 10 yrs ago, this "best" my daughter is at now was not the "best" then... get my point?

Focus on working with your daughter in the now and supporting her in the now vs worrying about something so far out in the future. They grow up WAY to fast to be planning high school while in 3rd grade.

If it were me, I would start studying up on middle schools, but not start interviewing until I knew I could get her in.

As for high school? I would be paying attention to who is going where and try to ascertain that she could attend a school with people she knows from middle school.

I wish Missouri had school choice.

sorry - here in Fairfax County - you go to the school that your are districted for. If you want a school of choice - you are going to private school.

IF you choose to have your child attend another school in the district - you have to "plead your case" - i.e. language classes that your "assigned" school does not have, etc. and then you will be responsible for transportation to and from school, they will NOT provide a bus for you.

The ratings? They can be nice - but really? By the time your kid gets there - they will have changed. She's in the 3rd grade. Is middle school 6th or 7th for your area? I wouldn't start "stressing" over it until the year before...that's when the scores are accurate and the faculty is current.

Totally agree with Sherri G. Kids should go to their local school (unless it is truly awful) within their community. Life is too short to spend hours commuting back and forth just to be in a "better" school district. You need to take into consideration not only academics, but sports and clubs and other activities. Those things take time, too, and must be factored into the bigger picture.
If I were you my bigger concern would be the transfer from a Montessori school into a traditional school. My little cousin went from a Montessori school to a regular public school in 6th grade and she really struggled. She had never had to do homework, study for tests, etc. It was really hard for her to adjust.

We kind of have school choice - there are "consortiums" of schools and they can choose from there. We don't have MS choice at the same level, but I plan to evaluate DD's options at all levels. January is when testing starts here, and my friend who has older kids (things have expanded since my stepkids were little) says there's no harm in getting DD tested. The district has information on what tests are administered when and where and by who. Yours probably does, too, so that's a place to start.

With HS, each of our HS has a "specialty" they offer. Maybe an Engineering program, or another is big on arts. That was our starting point for the kids. My SS actually started in one HS and finished at his home school. He had various reasons. SD stayed in her HS all 4 years.

For both of them, they made friends quickly. When you go up a level, you may or may not have the same kids fed into that school BUT if there's a bunch of new 6th, 7th or 9th graders, then there's a lot of people in the same situation, and it's a lot easier. I started at a new MS in 6th, which was right in the middle for that school. That was tougher.

So I wouldn't choose by possible friends going there. I'd choose based on her needs and what works best for the family. In my homestate, you could apply to go to a different school than assigned, but they wouldn't transport you - would school choice in your area mean you have to drive her? And if so, does that matter to you?

I do suggest you visit schools in person the year before she attends. My DD is slated to attend the same elementary school her big sister did. They don't score off the charts but they also have a lot of ESOL kids - AND they have some really dedicated, wonderful teachers that are still there. The school is only "failing" on certain standardized testing criteria. It's not a bad school. Talk to other parents. Talk to parents of older kids. They'll give you the inside scoop.

Great School ratings of 9 and 10 are very good and we've stuck with that. You weed out a lot of the less than wholesome environments. Since, if a school is rated a 4 or 5 or worse, say, what ARE the students doing? Not academics, at least very well. The lower ratings tend to be in more violent areas and the schools have a lot of problems with gangs.

I judge by test scores because it's an easy, measurable way to judge the students. That's what these measure. It doesn't really measure a "school," but the students' intelligence. A high-performing school is going to have a positive academic environment for the most part. There is a lot about middle school that just stinks, I know. It's awkward and kids can be awfully mean. But you can only go by the info you have to find a school that's decent.

A positive environment is important, but you can't take a child who is going to struggle no matter what and expect the 9 or 10 rated school to make him a star. Likewise, you can stick a very smart, motivated kid in a 4 or 5 school and he/she can do very, very well. The school cannot "make" the child since we're all born with one brain and IQ. But schools can do things to foster learning and enjoyment of it.

We don't do that with public schools here. If you want "choice" then you have to pay for private schools or you move to the district where you want your child to attend school. In my area, pretty much any of the private schools in the immediate area are stellar and would be phenomenal choices. As it is, the public school district we're in is exceptional and has a wonderful special education program.

So I guess I'm really no help at all to you and shouldn't have bothered responding :-p

We chose to send our kids to a neighboring district. It ended up working for us as our home district has closed half of their elementary schools in the last four years and the school of choice is now closer to my house than the home district school. We made our choice after talking to parents with kids in both districts, visiting the schools and looking at their websites, etc. We also started to integrate them into the district before school started by joining activities based there - soccer, dance, storytime. It was probably a little easier because we were able to start this at kindergarten rather than middle school. Like another answer suggested, look into sending her to a middle school that feeds into the high school you prefer.

Test scores and ratings are helpful, but they do not paint a complete picture. Parental involvement is the absolute biggest factor in a child's education. Often times schools will have high scores because they have a higher percentage of students with very active parents. It's not that the teachers at these schools are all seller and far superior to the teachers at other schools. The teachers at both schools might be equally fabulous. But the schools that get the higher ratings are usually the schools with a high percentage of parents that are actively involved in their child's education.

I went to Catholic schools, and I'm very glad I did as my faith is an important part of my life. But I didn't go to the neighborhood school, so I didn't really make friends with my classmates who did go to school with their neighbors. Looking back, that wasn't something I wanted for my child. While I would love for my kids to attend Catholic schools, our local parish does not have a school. I could still send them to a Catholic school, but I want them to go to school with the neighbors and the other kids at our church and to really be a part of our community.

You have plenty of time. Start talking to other parents and really listening to their experiences. Just soak it all in - don't worry too much about making a decision right now. Consider what the other families in your neighborhood might be doing. I think continuity of schools is important. I love knowing that my kids will be going to school with their classmates for grade school, middle school and high school. For that reason, I would be more apt to pair middle school and high school together. I'd be looking for the best combination, rather than the best middle school and the best high school regardless of how many of her classmates would stay with her.

My oldest has a summer birthday, and I was not sure whether or not to send him to kindergarten when he was 5. I was aware of this concern pretty much from the time I took the pregnancy test :-) Whenever other parents were talking about it I would ask their thoughts and experiences. I did this for a few years and was very, very happy with our decision. (He started kindergarten when he was 6.)

You have plenty of time, but now is a good time to start asking some questions and really listening to people's personal experience.

You may want to homeschool for that year if she's been going to Montessori school now. It's a hard transition from Montessori to regular school. You may find that she's quite a bit behind academically compared to the public school kids.

Public schools don't do interviews. You just need to figure out which school you want her in and get there for registration the very first day to ensure a spot.