FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Change can be hard for everybody – and there’s new information out that suggests when 11 and 12-year-olds go from fifth grade to sixth grade, it’s an incredibly challenging time in their young lives. And stability can drastically improve their performance in the classroom.

Rather than going off to a different school with different teachers and possibly being forced to make different friends, some local districts are looking more seriously at the model that keeps kids at the same school in grades K through 8.

At Samuel Gaines Academy in Fort Pierce, 8th graders and 2nd graders are separated by just a set of stairs.

“Number one is the culture, I think that’s really the key to success here,” says Nia Talib. She teaches reading to fourth graders at Gaines. Talib started her career here in 2015 when it was a “D” school. Now it’s an “A” school.

Principal Keith Davis has been at the helm for the transformation. He says that Gaines being a K-8 school helped with turnaround. “We were very intentional with trying to train those teachers that were here, just about the single school culture expectation, how to care for kids, but how to give them leadership roles,” says Davis.

There are clear positives for parents to turn to K-8 schools.

Siblings are more likely to go to the same school, plus one facility can replace multiple others.

See also: PBC School Board approves elementary school rezoning in Riviera Beach for 2026-27

But also the CBS12 News I-Team has learned that districts are seeing students find more success when they don’t have to switch schools in sixth grade.

A study published in the Journal of Public Economics found that students moving from elementary school to middle school experienced a notable drop in performance in both math and English.

“The truth is, that there can be significant benefits, both psychologically and developmentally, of staying in the same school, K through eight,” says psychologist Dr. Rachel Needle. She says that changing schools for pre-adolescents can have a drastic effect on their emotional well-being. “Stability and not having different expectations, having the same peer group, having the same administrators and teachers can impact them.”

Sixth grader Roman Pierce says, “You get to see all the teachers that you’ve had over the years, bond with the students. And you can you have a sense of safety, because you know where all the school resource officers offices are.”

Principal Davis says making sure the older kids are good role models for the younger kids is key to making the culture work. ” So through that whole process,” says Davis, “they see it first if they actually are here in third grade or second grade. They see it because they are noticing older kids are coming downstairs to interact with them.”

“My favorite thing about our school is buddy classes,” says Mariah Youngblood, an eighth grader at Gaines. “Because when I was in elementary, the eighth graders would come to us and look at our portfolios. But now I’m an eighth grader going to the elementary students, and it’s like a great experience.

Growing up is hard enough. So when that culture gets built, as it has at Gaines, keeping kids under one roof, for as long as possible, may just be the key to helping close some of the learning gaps our districts are seeing.

“It’s just nice that as they’re walking through the campus, they may see somebody that they know,” says Talib. “And it’s like a reminder that, okay, everything’s going to be fine.”

Gaines Academy is in Fort Pierce, and St. Lucie County is more dedicated to K-8 schools than our other districts. St. Lucie County starting next year will have 11 K-8 schools, to just 4 middle schools. That’s a much larger percentage than our other local districts.

Indian River County currently has four K-8 schools and 4 middle schools, but they are reconfiguring some of their schools for next year, to make sure there are more seats available in those K-8 schools.

Martin County Schools announced at a school board meeting that it is investigating adding a K-8 school. But right now, they have none.

Palm Beach County has way more schools than other districts, but it leans heavily on middle schools, with just 7 K-8 schools, to 34 middle schools. I did ask the district where they stood on this debate, and they said they are open to expanding the K-8 model, and they are moving South Olive Elementary to a K-8 in a few years. But as of right now, they still remain way behind St. Lucie Public Schools in the percentage of schools that are K-8.

We want to know what you think – Are you for the K-8 model over “Elementary to Middle School”? Reach out to Matt Lincoln on Facebook, and we may just read your comments on ARC Florida.