Press Release

NMSA and NAESP release position paper on "Transitioning Students from Elementary to Middle School"

For further information, contact:
Sue Swaim (NMSA), 1-800-528-NMSA
June Million (NAESP), 703-684-3345

Parents, Schools Must Take Action to Help Students Succeed as They Move Into Middle School

March 28, 2002--Two of the nation's leading educational organizations, representing almost 60,000 elementary and middle school teachers, administrators, and parents, today called for a partnership among parents, teachers, principals, counselors and students to improve the success of those students as they change from childhood to adolescence and move from elementary to middle school.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and National Middle School Association (NMSA) issued a call to action to schools with specific steps principals, teachers and counselors, and parents should take during this challenging period of transition that for some may be "associated with a decline in academic achievement, performance motivation, and self-perception."

Teachers and counselors are urged to work with their counterparts at the other level. Schools are asked to create transition plans and implement teaching strategies at the middle level, such as teaching teams that have proven successful. And parents are urged to find out about the new school's programs and stay involved in their child's education.

"The transition from elementary to middle school can be one of the most exciting times in a student's life," said Sue Swaim, NMSA executive director. "Yet, many students are apprehensive and some parents fearful about the move. Educators owe it to students to make this transition as smooth as possible so they remain engaged in learning. We all must remember that the middle school years are the second most important time in a person's development."

"Millions of young adolescents move from elementary to middle school each year and face numerous changes," said Vincent Ferrandino, NAESP executive director. "In most elementary schools children are taught in self-contained classrooms with a familiar set of peers and one or two teachers. In middle schools they must interact with five times as many peers and more teachers and face intensified expectations."

Middle school youngsters are maturing physically, exercising independence, and forming strong relationships with peers, which can lead to a strained home atmosphere as both parents and children struggle with redefining roles and relationships, according to the position statement. "It is also a time when young adolescents are most likely to experiment with at-risk behaviors," the paper says.

NAESP and NMSA are calling upon schools at both levels to adopt transition plans to "restore the strong sense of belonging the entering middle school student once felt in elementary school."

"The concerns most often expressed by students about to enter middle school focus on the routine of the new school: finding their way around and getting to class on time, dealing with lockers and combination locks, and mixing with older students," the paper explains.

"Frankly, these issues are easy to solve when schools focus on them," said Ferrandino. "A plan could include visits to the new school by the incoming student, meetings between parents at the two levels, big brother/sister programs, and opportunities for incoming students to walk the route of their new schedule."

"However, schools must move beyond some of the useful yet basic steps. They need to develop a more comprehensive approach built upon a commitment to teamwork and collaboration where educators, parents, and students work together to design and implement transition programs," Swaim said.

"Too frequently, transition is thought of as a single task or a one-time event. That approach will lead to failure," she continued. "There must be a focus on transition throughout the school year, and that focus must include school leaders, teachers, counselors, parents, other family members, and the students themselves."

The paper calls for transition programs that include:

a sensitivity to the anxieties accompanying a move to a new school setting,
the importance of parents and teachers as partners in this effort, and
the recognition that becoming comfortable in a new school setting is an ongoing process, not a single event.

The position paper, "Supporting Students in Their Transition to Middle School," and resources will appear on the Web sites and in the publications of both NMSA and NAESP. It is also the basis of a co-developed workshop for national and state meetings of both associations as they work with members throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas.

Specific action steps in the paper can be found on the association web sites, NMSA or NAESP.

Established in 1921, the National Association of Elementary School Principals serves 28,500 elementary and middle school principals in the United States, Canada, and overseas.

National Middle School Association is the nation's largest professional association focusing specifically on the education of young adolescents (10 to 15 year olds). Its 29,265 members include middle level teachers, principals, school administrators, parents, and others dealing with this age group.

-30-

(NOTE TO REPORTERS: These are the action steps as they appear in the position statement. A complete copy of the statement is available on either association's web site.)

A Call to Action
National Middle School Association and the National Association of Elementary School Principals urge principals, teachers, school counselors, parents, and students at both elementary and middle school levels to work together in the planning and implementing of strategies that will directly address students' concerns and ease the transition to middle school and provide children with a foundation for success in school and life. Specifically,

School leaders should:

Make the planning, implementation, and evaluation of transition activities an annual focus, beginning in the intermediate grades of the elementary school.
Begin as early as grade five to create an environment that promotes a confident transition from a self-contained classroom structure to the larger team structure of the middle school.
Encourage collaboration among elementary and middle schools and teachers, students, and parents.
Provide comprehensive orientation programs for teachers, students, and families, including older siblings, who strongly influence attitudes and perceptions of transitioning students.
Become knowledgeable about the needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
Support teachers' efforts to address students' social, developmental, and academic needs.
Provide leadership in creating a climate that values and supports effective home/school communications.

Teachers and counselors should:

Engage in collaborative planning with their counterparts at the elementary and middle levels to ensure a smooth academic transition that recognizes and accommodates variations in curricula across feeder schools.
Become knowledgeable about the needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
Keep parents informed, help them become skilled in dealing with issues related to transition, and welcome their participation in their children's education.
Provide counseling at both the elementary and middle levels to address transition concerns and assure students of the availability of ongoing support.
Provide programs, activities, and curricula to help students understand and cope successfully with the challenges of transition.
Use a variety of developmentally appropriate instructional practices that will enable each child to experience academic success.
Employ strategies such as cooperative learning that provide opportunities for peer interaction.
Consider organizational structures such as team teaching that ensure teachers have meaningful knowledge and understanding of each child.

Parents should:

Provide young children with manageable tasks that will help them develop organizational skills and responsibility.
Encourage children to try new things and to regard failure as a necessary part of learning and growing.
Become knowledgeable about the needs and concerns of young adolescents in transition.
Help children turn their anxieties into positive action by learning about school rules, schedules, locker procedures, and the availability of counseling.
Attend school functions and stay involved in children's schooling.
Support children in their efforts to become independent.
Maintain strong family connections with young adolescents.
Be alert to signs of depression or anxiety in their children and seek help.