Parents attended Life in Middle School, a talk with the middle school head administrators Jennifer Lindsay from Baylor, Scotty Jones from McCallie and Lynne Macziewski from GPS. There was plenty of advice from waiting to get a cell phone to ramping up chores and responsibilities for your child at home.
Topics included social, emotional and physical changes; academic expectations; social media and technology use; changing family relationships, and setting boundaries while fostering independence.
A portion of the discussion was videotaped. You may view that here.
Here are some of the comments from the speakers:
Social and emotional changes
During middle school, your child will grow from a little boy or girl to a young man or woman. It is a time of great and even startling changes.
Expect your child to not say much when you ask "How was your day?" They may need time to process and then share information on their own terms.

Middle school is a time for the most growth of the brain outside of infancy. In sixth grade, the brain is still looking at things in a concrete, black and white way. In seventh grade, students question more and see the gray, and they become more abstract thinkers in eighth grade.
Eighth grade was described as the "golden year" because students still can't drive and are still around parents a great deal to have deep conversations.
They said middle school is like a roller coaster with many ups and downs. Don't try to fix everything; sometimes students just need you to be the "trash can" where they deposit all their complaints, worries, etc. Parents need to give students the tools to work on problems themselves.
Friendships will change, and new friends will develop around  things students like. They also noted boys as well as girls may break down crying for no apparent reason.
All three administrators talked about the counselors -- both psychological and academic -- available at their schools, and they advised parents to keep the schools updated on big events happening at home such as a deaths in the family, divorce or other things that may impact a child.
Academic expectations
The rigor increases in middle school. The administrators cautioned that teachers will place students in classes they think are best fits for the students but may not be what parents think. Advisors at the schools are in place to monitor and evaluate, and schools get to know the students. It is important for students to be challenged where they are and to be confident and successful.
Time management can be a struggle. They said fourth and seventh grades are generally the toughest grades because of the changes going on in the brain. Seventh grade may be the first time a student receives a zero or C grade. Let them do it! 
Administrators stressed that trying to rescue children from bad grades or forgetting homework or materials is not helpful and is counter-productive to learning. They recommended the book The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey.
These schools monitor students well and will be able to see "when the wheels start falling off." Letting your child be independent -- checking their own homework and putting together what they need for the day ahead -- is good. Let them do this the first quarter or so and see if that needs to be scaled back in a helpful way.
Technology
Of course these schools use plenty of technology in the learning environment, but all three heads were adamant about cell phones: Your child does not need a cell phone in sixth grade, maybe even seventh grade.
If your child says "everyone has a phone," these administrators can tell you that is not true. If he or she has a phone, do not allow 24-hour access. They need to sleep. Don't keep the phone in the bedroom at night.
If you wonder how you would get in touch with your child during the day -- use the school phone for emergencies or important change of plans. They said talking and texting during the day is distracting.
Many discipline issues in middle school have to do with the phone and social media. Phones must be put away during school hours in middle school.
Parents must be on top of social media. If your child has social media accounts, parents need to check the accounts and see what is going on. Students at this age do not understand the consequences of posts or texts or photos or that they can be spread from person to person very quickly. Don't leave them alone on social media! They reassured parents that students this age, as minors, are not guaranteed privacy. You can take the phone away.
Finally, there is a slew of research about the damage caused by blue lights of the phones and the detrimental effect on sleep patterns.
Independence and boundaries
Don't be alarmed if your child wants to be in his or her room alone with the door closed. They need this "me" time.
Middle schools still need to do chores at home. They are not too busy. The administrators said unloading the dishwasher is a great chore for elementary school, but chores should ramp up in middle school. They suggested mowing the lawn -- for girls and boys. They need to understand that as life progresses, obligations and responsibilities increase.
Provide dinner at the table and encourage family time there. This is a good time for conversations.
They said students need to have a good place to do homework. It should be a consistent place with no distractions like phones.