When sixth-graders at five East Honolulu elementary schools are folded into Niu Valley Middle School next fall, the move will complete a decade-long push in the Honolulu School District to stretch the transition between elementary and high school to three years.

Although recent studies have questioned the overall effectiveness of middle schools, Hawai'i school districts are following the lead of most school systems across the country by offering a middle school experience that addresses young-adolescent social and emotional needs along with academics.

More than two-thirds of the state's 36 public middle and intermediate schools include sixth grade, along with the usual seventh and eighth grades. Niu Valley is the last of the nine middle schools in the Honolulu District to make the switch. The district stretches between Hawai'i Kai and Kalihi.

"The philosophy is that middle school is more than two years," said Niu Valley principal John Flynn.

By enrolling students in sixth grade, middle schools have more time to acclimate them to the rigors of secondary-level academics as well as help them transition from the more intimate elementary school environment to the typically larger and more impersonal secondary schools.

"The middle school works on the whole child and this is a real important time for them," Flynn said.

Mary Jean Bresnan, who has a seventh-grader at Niu Valley Middle and a fourth-grader at Koko Head Elementary, called the change "a fine idea."

"I've been very happy with the school for my seventh-grader. It's been a very positive experience," she said. "I think the sixth-graders will do very well there."

But Eric Robison, whose son is in fourth grade at Haha'ione, believes that today's children don't need exposure to the junior high environment a year early.

"Seventh and eighth grade brings a lot of pressure that sixth-graders shouldn't have to be around," he said. "There's absolutely nothing against the faculty or the schools themselves, but I think we're rushing the kids a little too much."

K-8 TREND

While the state works to improve the quality of middle school education, some school districts on the Mainland have been doing away with middle schools. Cities such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Philadelphia are experimenting with schools that enroll students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

A 2004 study by California-based Rand Corp., a nonprofit research group, supports the K-8 trend.

"Research suggests that the onset of puberty is an especially poor reason for beginning a new phase of schooling," the report states, arguing that the stress of physical changes coupled with school transfers could lead to long-lasting negative effects.

The report also suggests that some endeavors intended to improve the middle school experience, such as interdisciplinary learning and advisory programs, are difficult to implement.

Paul Deering, who runs a master's degree program for mid-level educators at the University of Hawai'i, said "a lot of the mythology of mid-level practice not working comes from middle schools not really doing the practices."

Schools that successfully break their middle schools into smaller learning communities targeted specifically at adolescent needs have shown dramatic improvements, he said.

A research consortium that followed more than 1 million students found that schools that adopt this approach can boost student achievement by up to 30 percent, he said.

If students are "supported and held accountable by teachers who know them well, you have a safe, orderly environment where kids are going to learn lots more," Deering said.

The School Community Councils at 'Aina Haina, Haha'ione, Koko Head, Kamiloiki and Wailupe Valley elementary schools have put their trust in Niu Valley Middle, with each school voting to send sixth-grade students there.

Adding that grade has been a positive move for schools that already have made the change.

"By all the indications we've received, all the kids and parents that have come are quite pleased with the move and content with the fact that their kids are challenged," said Kaimuki Middle School principal Frank Fernandes.

At Kaimuki, where sixth-graders were added more than 10 years ago, implementation of a three-grade school has not been as tough as the Rand study suggests.

"Generally speaking, it was not a difficult process in terms of organization and scheduling," Fernandes said.

SOCIAL ISSUES

It was more challenging to get parents to accept that their children would be leaving the nurturing cocoon of elementary school a year early, but the middle school worked hard to assure people that the campus was safe and could offer a wider variety of programs than the elementary schools.

"It does take time and it does take attention to concerns," Fernandes said.

Niu Valley is likely to face the same challenges.

"I like Koko Head," said Shinogu Sato, whose daughter is in fourth grade and scheduled to move to Niu Valley after the next school year. "If she could stay, I would want to keep her in Koko Head."

Fernandes said research supports the middle school concept embraced in Hawai'i, as well as beginning middle-level instruction in the sixth grade. For example, he agrees with studies that indicate sixth-graders have more in common with seventh- and eighth-graders than they do with their younger counterparts.

"I think that affords the kids an opportunity to be with, in their minds, the older kids. It affords them a sense of confidence and accomplishment to be able to go to a larger middle school environment," Fernandes said.

Bresnan does not see a problem with putting the sixth-graders in with the older students.

"What's the difference if you put sixth-graders with eighth-graders if you put kindergarteners with fifth-graders?" she asked. "Some kids are going to pick up stuff, but if they know how to make good choices in their home life, they should take that into their school life."

In some ways, exposure to older kids is what concerns parents.

Fellow parent Sato said she is not comfortable with sending her daughter to middle school a year early.

"She's still young," Sato said. "In middle school they're so mature. That's why I don't want to put her there earlier."

Sato is more worried about the social issues than the academic ones. "Educationally, I think middle school is better," she said.

Bresnan agrees, especially since one reason for the move is to better prepare the students for high school, then college. "It seems it needs to be done," she said.

MORE TIME

In an era of standards-based instruction and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, middle schools welcome the opportunity for more time with the students. A three-year middle school offers extra time to determine whether student academic abilities are at grade level and assist under-achieving students.

"If the transition is made earlier, it helps smooth out the next two years," Fernandes said.

Before entering into the more complicated seventh- and eighth-grade academics, sixth-graders may be eased into the new setting by learning how the school operates and getting acquainted with people in the school, homework load and how to get around campus.

Niu Valley will be implementing a structure similar to Kaimuki's in that sixth-graders will be separated from older students except for elective classes, such as beginning band. They also will be introduced to secondary school experiences, such as switching classes and learning subjects from teachers who specialize in the field of study.

In addition, they will participate in "advisory class," a type of homeroom in which small groups of students talk about issues ranging from bullying to drugs.

Niu Valley already uses team teaching, which is in place at many of the state's secondary schools. Team teaching separates the student body into smaller learning communities, and allowing for activities to be coordinated between different subjects, Flynn said.

The biggest challenge in getting parents to accept the move to Niu Valley has been combating their notions of what elementary and middle schools are.

"Many parents have a vision," Fernandes said. "It's a tradition and the history of the school ... but if you really nail them down to that, they realize times have changed."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.