Dr. Wes: Summer is half over, and the school year is on the horizon. No one is more aware of this than the new seventh-graders. They are about to undergo the most significant school transition of their lives. This time often creates considerable anxiety, especially in Lawrence, the rare district that combines ninth-graders with other junior high students, thus crossing some significant development lines. However, there is considerable research that suggests this transition is often a bumpy one in any district. Studies indicate a significant drop in academic performance and grade-point average during seventh grade, especially for younger girls of lower socioeconomic status. Not only do grades tend to go down, but the general attitude toward academics (especially math) declines in seventh grade.

In response, I suggest parents quietly take a more active role early on, setting clear guidelines for study time. If the student appears to be getting along OK after a semester, those guidelines may be relaxed – but monitoring should continue. I’m a big believer in using incentives for grades, and this is often a good time to start a “payment” scheme every nine weeks, or even weekly if your teen has a short attention span. Of course this is certainly no time to drop the habit of going to parent-teacher conferences and staying in touch with teachers.

Not surprisingly, research also suggests that seventh-graders (especially girls) worry a great deal about peer relations at junior high, though this may lessen fairly soon after they acclimate to seventh grade. I suggest parents and teachers work hard to reassure kids that things generally turn out OK, while opening lines of communication about relationships in school. Never will this be more important, and establishing a good rapport with young teens will pay off as they age. Students and parents should also take advantage of orientation activities for seventh-graders. I even suggest dropping by the school the week before classes start and walking the halls with the student. But only if that makes them feel better. The same advice applies to soon-to-be sophomores.

Positive attitudes toward school tend to decline in seventh grade, especially among students who were reported as aggressive and disruptive in grade school. As a part of this trend, some seventh-graders begin to see teachers not as friends, but as unfriendly, authoritarian and unresponsive to their needs. They also tend to believe that parents, teachers and peers see THEM less favorably than they did in grade school. Keeping this in mind may help adults take a more empathic approach to new “sevies.”

Jenny: Having been a seventh-grader once, I think self-esteem can take a big hit when you start junior high, especially if you’re a girl. It’s a time of feeling self-conscious and inadequate, even if you did well academically in elementary school. For those seventh-graders out there, don’t worry that you won’t get to your locker on time or that you’ll forget your combination. You’ll be able to find your classroom, and you aren’t the only one feeling anxious.

One comment that will forever remain in my mind from seventh grade came from a couple of ninth-graders who were walking down the hallway at my school. They said, “Look! They are so small! Were we ever that small?” I kept thinking to myself, I am NOT small; but later, in ninth grade, a group of my friends were walking that hallway thinking exactly the same thing. Realize it will all go by quickly and that you’ll soon be in high school.

Next week: Step-parenting teens to avoid getting caught in the middle of divorce and custody issues.