Middle school is one of the most pivotal chapters in a young person’s life. It is the bridge between the cozy, structured world of elementary school and the greater independence that high school demands. How schools treat students during these years has lasting consequences for their development.

Middle school educators, by and large, hold the same view on this issue: Our students are developmentally ready to take on more responsibility, and our schools’ design should reflect that. Middle school is about more than reading, writing and arithmetic; it’s about preparing students to demonstrate more mature behavior.

Get them moving

One of the most concrete ways schools can help prepare middle school students is in how they manage class transitions. The best instructional models are where students — not teachers — move between classes. This is not simply a logistical preference; it is rooted in developmental science. When students navigate their own schedule, find their classrooms and manage their time between periods, they build executive functioning skills, a sense of independence and the self-regulation they will need in high school and beyond.

The alternative — keeping middle schoolers seated while teachers rotate to them — sends the wrong message. It treats 11- to 14-year-olds like young children at a moment when they are actively growing out of that phase. Supporting students in making independent transitions is a small but meaningful way in which schools can honor where their students are developmentally.

All too often, behavior and discipline are the reasons given for why middle schoolers do not transition — as if keeping students in the same room all day will alleviate those issues. It won’t. Not allowing adolescents to establish independence only exacerbates behavioral problems.

Sports also spur growth

The independence students can build through participation in sports is another avenue often lacking in our middle schools. Access to organized athletic programs through the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) has been out of reach, with PSAL programming centered on high school students.

Expanding PSAL sports to the middle school level across all five boroughs would meet students at exactly the right moment. Early adolescence is a time when young people are searching for belonging, testing their limits and figuring out who they are. Organized sports provide a structured, supportive environment where those questions can be explored in healthy ways. Research consistently shows that participation in athletics improves not just physical health, but mental well-being, academic performance, and social development — all of which are especially critical during the ever important middle school years.

The bigger picture

While not directly related, both sports participation and class transitioning point to the same underlying truth: Middle school students are not little kids anymore, and they should not be treated as such. They are capable of getting themselves to class. They are ready to compete, collaborate and commit to something they care about. What they need most is not tighter supervision but the right opportunities and support to practice becoming the more independent, confident people they are already working hard to become. Handing them the reins isn’t just good pedagogy; it’s the exact vote of confidence they need to rise to the occasion.