Best Time to Change Schools

Would it be better for my fifth-grader to stay in his K-8 private school or to transfer to a public middle school next year? He will attend the public high school. -- Decision Time
Answer: There are advantages to either staying in the K-8 school or transferring to the middle school. He would be with friends he knows in the current school and would not have to make the inevitable adjustment problems of going to a new school. It would also reduce the number of transitions between schools that always affect children. At the middle school, he would probably have a more diversified curriculum and a greater range of facilities.
The best decision is probably what your son wants to do. After a visit to the middle school, the decision should be easier for him.