Advice/ Experience on Switching Kids Schools

I would switch him at the end of this year.

You are right about starting middle school with no friends. Middle school is scarey enough when you do have friends. And you are also right about him going to school with the neighborhood children. My daughter did not go to the school in the neighborhood we lived in; she went to school by the daycare and it really caused her not to make close friends in the neighborhood. She had friends, but they just didn't become close because they didn't see each other on a daily basis.

I think you are right.

Woud it be possible to move the younger one and leave the older one?
Most middle schools have several elementary feeder schools. Do BOTH of the schools you are talking about (their current one and the closer/new one) feed into the same middle school? If they do, then the whole middle school part of it is a non-issue.

Go visit the new school first. Go alone and tour and if you like it and feel ok about it, go again and take your children. Get a feel for the environment and how it feels to you.

We are in Plano ISD and the big switches are to middle school from 5th elementary to 6th middle, then from 8th middle to 9th high school , then 10th high school to 11th Sr. high school.

We switched our daughter last year so that she attends a different Sr high school. Our neighborhood is sort of in the middle. The school per our boundary is a solid 30 minutes away due to traffic, etc. After 2012, all children will be switched to Plano Senior high (the original) which is about 10 minutes from my house. We switched to Plano West which is about 15 minutes from our house.

My neighborhood has a lot of high schoolers going to the one assigned and a lot of schoolers sho have transferred for personal reasons to Plano Senior or Plano West.

It is a personal decision and you have to figure out what is best for your famlily now. In 2-3 yrs, the boundaries sometimes change, schools change, etc. What is the best school today may not be the best school in 3 yrs.

Kids are resliient...he will rebound fine. My advice to you would be at the beginning of the year....get the list of kids in his class and the parents names/phone numbers - our school publishes one and I guess other schools do too. Anyway have him invite a new kid or two per week to a "play date" that seems like a kid he might want to be friends with. You can call the mom in advance, introduce yourself...let her know that your kid is new to the school and thought that her kid was nice...could they have a play date....help grease the way for your kid to make new friends. Also if there are after school activiites that he would be interested in. I would also suggest getting involved in the new school as much as you can so that you will make new friends and by transference your sons will make new friends.

Good luck.

I agree with you. I would switch now for the same reasons you mentioned. Good luck!

I don't understand. Sorry. But to me, their current school IS close by. Only 8 minutes away, one way.

Since your eldest child is more "dramatic" and concerned about switching schools now, again... he will still have that issue, perhaps, even when he has to go to middle school. And maybe he is tired of switching schools. Having had to do so, when he was in 1st grade.
Middle school will be, no matter what, bigger in population and campus size.

Ditto Victoria W.

You said your kids are doing well at the school they are in now, and you really like the school now.

In all neighborhoods, it is comprised of kids, who go to various schools. And in order to know the neighborhood/meeting families, it is not mandatory or necessary.... for a child to go to ONLY the neighborhood school. My kids' school is about 8-10 minutes away. And in our neighborhood, the kids who reside in it... all go to various schools. Not only the same school.
So the problem is: do you want your kids to go to Middle School with other kids & friends that they already know from elementary school... OR, do you want them to go to Middle school with other kids from their neighborhood??? Which they may or may not know?
Kids, ultimately, make friends from many places. Not only from their neighborhood.

Regardless, you can STILL.... be involved in your neighborhood and meet the neighborhood families, even if... your kids do not go to the neighborhood school.

Well I think your kids are young still, so you should switch schools. I mean, you can't protect them forever, and your 3rd grader needs to meet people in your new neighborhood, that is where you live. How will he feel when he is out in the yard and a group of kids walk by and he doesn't know them, and they just live down the street? You can switch him, and still have the old friends over for play days on the weekends.
Now I will share my story with you. My kids were in 5th and 8th grade when we moved 3 years ago. We have had nothing but whining and whining from them, for moving them out of their schools that they grew up in, with all the friends that they have known since kindergarten. Sure, they have made new friends, but they say it is not the same. I feel it too, because I kind of lost my friends too, even though I'm the mom. It's kind of out of sight out of mind, so if you really have kids that you want your kids to stay friends with, you are going to have to make it happen. It is sad in a way, but at the same time, you are moving on with your life, and moving into a new place, and your kids will just have to learn that making friends is part of life, and being the new kid sometimes is too. That is what we have told our kids. It's a tricky spot to be in, but overall, i'd say moving to a different school is just part of life. Good luck to you. Hope it works out.

I would switcher sooner rather than later. have you considered touring the new school now? find out when their events are for the rest of the year and attend?

I think it would be so much easier to switch now, and after summer is the best time, a friend or two may have moved or changed schools in the summer so next year even at the same school is never the same.

My sister didn't move my nephew when she wanted to and thoroughly regrets it now, the friends he HAD to stay with ~ one dissed him the following school year and the other had to move unexpectedly, so it wasn't anything like he thought it would be :(

Life happens, kids adapt, they truly do, decide what works best for you and go for it.