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Parent Involvement At The Middle School Level

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Parent Involvement at the Middle School Level
This article was prepared by ACCESS ERIC, with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education and is in the public domain.
Many parents who are actively involved in the education of their children at the elementary school level become less involved when their children reach middle school. However, parent involvement in a child's education during the middle school years (ages 10 to 14) is just as important in a child's success at school as it is in earlier grades. If the school doesn't have a formal participation plan for parents, it is important that parents take the initiative to continue their involvement and collaboration in their children's school.

What Is a Middle School?

Middle schools are schools that group students between the ages of 10 and 14. In some parts of the country, children from fifth to ninth grades are grouped together; in other parts, seventh- and eighth-graders are in one school. One of the most common middle school arrangements groups children from sixth to eighth grades.

What Are Middle Schoolers Like?

As children grow, they begin to experience physical, intellectual, and emotional changes. The way they learn, feel, see the world, and relate to other people becomes different from when they were younger. These changes, along with demands from present-day society and peer pressure, create conflicts and tension in the adolescent, which are reflected in their behavior in school and at home.

Young people at this age show a good number of contradictions and conflicts, which is normal. There is no "model" adolescent. All young persons are individuals with strong and weak points and with positive and negative qualities. There are some common characteristics that should be kept in mind in order to understand and help the middle schooler in daily activities at home and at school:
• Adolescents...