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Hi. My DH just got a job offer which would have us relocating from Texas to Colorado. We've made several corporate moves in the last 15 years, but now that our oldest is in high school (she's a sophomore), I'm stressing a little bit (okay, a LOT ) about moving in the middle of the school year. I'm sure for her core courses they would have the same classes at a new high school (English, History, AP Chem, AP Algebra 2), and she would be able to transition into those without too many problems, but the electives and foreign language concern me. She's a straight A student, and we just don't want to screw up her academics, as she has her sights set on college and vet school.
If anyone has faced this issue, I'd appreciate any information on how it went for your child. Thanks.
We moved A LOT but my parents never made us move in the middle of the school year. That was a big NO-NO in our house......
That being said and academics aside....the friends. Moving in the middle of the years will give her a better chance of meeting people quicker than if she moved in the summer.
I am sorry she has to move during HS tho. I moved the middle of my soph/jr year and never really adapted. Hopefully it will be better for your daughter.
I moved while I was in school when i was younger also.
To be honest, it affected me alot. Leaving my friends and school was tough, and the next few years i was on a downward spiral. It took me a LONG time to adjust.
I would say let her finish out high school completely before moving unless its for a substansial increase in pay (or needed to avoid financial hardship)
I have one even better, my dh got a job transfer in Feb of our son's senior year of high school, because we had no family where we were at and he didn't want to live with friends he moved with us. He did really well and ended up doing really well for his track year and made some really good friends. If it had been our daughter I don't know if she would have done as well. Is there anyone your daughter could stay with until the end of the school year? Will the move be done at the end of a semester? If that is the case like Kali's Grandma said she would have a better chance of making friends and then start her junior year with friends. Good luck to your family. We have moved several times and will probably move several more.
We moved last Jan. during our daughter's sophomore year. It was difficult for her. She cried for the first few days and ate lunch in the bathroom because she couldn't stand sitting alone in the cafeteria. She met a nice boy about 4 days into school and he asked her to sit at lunch with he and his friends. Things got better. She really didn't have anything in common with these kids but at least they were someone to talk to and sit with. She started dating someone and things got a lot better after that.
Academically she did struggle a little. Mainly because we went from a traditional school schedule to a block schedule. Because we were halfway through the year, she had to start over at the beginning of the class. She also had to take mostly Freshman classes due to the order they take the classes here.
To be honest, she had a lot of days of wanting to "go home." We kept telling her that we were sorry but this is home now. She still misses her old friends but has finally begun to make new ones. Starting the school year off at the beginning this year has helped. There are several new kids and they have all formed there own "group". These are really nice kids and truthfully they are better kids than her old friends.
Things that helped: getting involved in a sport, getting involved in our neighborhood and finding a local church. Time. It does take time.
One thing to check is whether the schools both run on the same type of schedule, ie semesters, quarters, full-year courses. Where I went to school, everything was full year courses, but where my sisters go to school they are on semesters. If both schools are on semesters, is there a way your daughter could switch in between semesters?
My sister just transferred to a new school a few weeks ago, so mid-semester, as a freshman in HS. She was not able to get all the same courses that she was in b/c some of them were full. Her history class in her old school was 1 semester long, but in her new school it's a full year. The schedule is set up so that there are fewer courses at a time in her new school too. So there has been some adjustment academically. Socially, I think she is happier in the new school, but she did already know some of the kids there because this was just a transfer across town within the same district.
Thank you all for your input. My DD is actually excited about the move. She is painfully shy, so I know making friends will be hard for her, but she's not leaving any close friends here (we've only been here two years...corporate relocations have become a way of life---we plan for this to be our last move, as we want to settle in Colorado). Unfortunately, putting the move off until the end of the school year would not be an option...I wish it was. Thanks again.
Thank you all for your input. My DD is actually excited about the move. She is painfully shy, so I know making friends will be hard for her, but she's not leaving any close friends here (we've only been here two years...corporate relocations have become a way of life---we plan for this to be our last move, as we want to settle in Colorado). Unfortunately, putting the move off until the end of the school year would not be an option...I wish it was. Thanks again.
It always makes it easier when they are excited about moving. She sounds like she will do fine, attitude is half the battle and she sounds like she has a good one. Hope your move goes well and you get to settle down finally. I keep waiting for my dh to settle down somewhere.
We moved in the middle of the school year and that was tough for a 7th and 5th grader. At the start of 8th grade (and 6th), we had to move again just across the border to another state where we eventually bought a house (we were renting in the original move). If we could help it, we won't move again till they are both out of HS. The depression was evident but they got out of it. I think it gets worse in HS.
To compare a summer move with kids versus a mid-year move: there were a whole lot more opportunities to make friends with a mid-school year move. Our summer move made the kids feel isolated and it stretched out the adjustment period. Whereas for the mid-school year move, our kids felt like a novelty (in the good sense of the word) and the kids at their schools were pretty open to having someone new to brighten things up. We live in a community that gets a lot of kids transferring in and out, so that could be a part of the positive experience they had. Overall I think it just takes time. Parents busy with unpacking can often overlook the need to swiftly establish connections for their kids. Each week we pick an activity to do in the community: a bike path visit, music or art event, or museum, invitation of another family for a shared activity. Surprisingly, too, our dog has been a great "ice breaker" for meeting new people in the neighborhood. In the first month, we jumped into a YMCA membership and boy scouts and found that got the kids connecting to familiar faces and building friends. But it wasn't easy and I think it takes 8 months or more for things to start feeling like "home".
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) about moving in the middle of the school year. I'm sure for her core courses they would have the same classes at a new high school (English, History, AP Chem, AP Algebra 2), and she would be able to transition into those without too many problems, but the electives and foreign language concern me. She's a straight A student, and we just don't want to screw up her academics, as she has her sights set on college and vet school. 
