NextStep — For Students Entering Middle School

A structured readiness program for students preparing to enter middle school, and the families who want to do this transition with intention.

Middle school is where school stops being mostly the same year after year. The academic stakes climb, the social structures reorganize, and for the first time, students are asked to manage themselves in ways that elementary school never required.

NextStep is a focused readiness program that gives capable elementary-aged students — and their parents — a structured way to step into middle school prepared.

• Students entering 6th or 7th grade
• High-achieving students whose elementary years have been smooth and whose families want to keep that going
• Students with mild executive function or attention challenges who will face new organizational demands
• Twice-exceptional students whose strengths and supports may show up differently in middle school
• Students whose parents want to be proactive rather than reactive about the transition

NextStep is delivered as a structured five-meeting program, beginning with a standardized psychological assessment.

Initial Assessment — BASC-3. Before the first meeting, both the student and parents independently complete the BASC-3 — a standardized, norm-referenced behavioral assessment used by clinical psychologists. Results are scored and clinically interpreted before the first meeting.

Meeting 1 — Objective-setting (Student and Parents). A working meeting with the student and parents together to review the BASC-3 results, discuss the family's specific concerns and goals, and establish the focus for the work ahead.

Meetings 2, 3, and 4 — Working Sessions (Student). Three structured sessions with the student alone — building executive function skills before middle school's structural demands test them, coaching social skills and friendship resilience, cultivating a mastery mindset, and addressing pre-transition worries.

Meeting 5 — Family Integration. A closing 30–45 minute meeting with the parents and student together to present personalized recommendations, walk through what was accomplished, align on how the family will support the work going forward, and review a written summary the family takes home.

Format: In-person at our Coppell office or virtually 

Time commitment: BASC-3 plus five meetings, typically completed across 5–8 weeks 

Best timing: Spring or summer before the middle school year begins 

Investment: $1,950