The world as they know it changes when students hit junior high school. They enter adolescence, they become boy- or girl-crazy and they start to test their limits with authority figures.

But this year, several big changes within the Vicksburg Warren School District are planned to minimize the transition from elementary to junior high and stabilize disciplinary issues common among that age group.

&#8220Historically, we’ve treated them like young adults – like we do the high school students. But we’ve found that maybe that is too much freedom to have all at once coming from the elementaries,” said Superintendent James Price.

More than 1,500 of the 9,000 students, or 17 percent of all students districtwide, are enrolled in Vicksburg and Warren Central junior high schools.

Price said 47 percent of all formal discipline referrals to principals come from the junior high students, and 37 percent of all suspensions were junior high students.

&#8220More astounding is 40 percent of junior high students were suspended last year,” he said.

The ratio of teachers to students in the junior highs and the high schools is 1-to-13, only slightly higher than the elementary ratio of 1-to-11.

&#8220But it’s not an issue of student/teacher ratio but of discipline management,” Price said.

And this is not an problem that’s unique to Vicksburg and Warren County, Price said.

&#8220They’re testing their independence at that age,” Price said. &#8220They’re rebelling against authority while seeking peer approval, which is the most important thing at this time in their lives.”

Price said many students at that age don’t want parents involved in their school lives at all.

&#8220At both junior highs it’s difficult to get a PTA group well-attended,” he said. &#8220It’s not because the parents don’t want to be involved; it’s that their kids won’t let them be involved.”

&#8220The communication between junior high students and all adults is a strained proposition at best,” he said. &#8220It’s the time in a child’s life when they’re in adolescence, and although they need guidance from adults, they steer clear of adults as much as possible.”

Under the restructuring, students will have plenty of literal guidance – to and from classes under the supervision of a teacher.

&#8220We’ve established a system so that students move from core class to core class with a teacher,” Price said. &#8220In sixth grade, they move as a group, and in the past, seventh-graders are turned loose in the halls, and their classes didn’t stay in tact.”

This year, junior high teachers will team teach in pods, much like they do at the elementary level, said Cedric Magee, principal of Warren Central Junior High.

With the pod system, the students move from classroom to classroom as a whole for most subjects so that the class itself stays intact.

&#8220In the core classes, the teachers will have the same students all year, which we believe will help with disciplinary issues,” he said.

Betty Neal, an eighth-grade science teacher at Vicksburg Junior High, said she thinks team teaching will be very beneficial.

&#8220As a whole, I think we’ll see a big improvement in test scores, academics and behavior because we’ll all be working together,” said Neal, who has taught at the junior high level for 23 years.

&#8220The same group of teachers will have the same students all year. They can discuss discipline issues and problem areas to find the best solution,” she said.

Discipline problems among students at this age are mainly juvenile issues – attitudes, talking back to teachers and not following the dress code, Neal said.

But in March, a series of bomb threats at Warren Central Junior High disrupted classes for three days in a row. Two junior high-aged children – a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy – were arrested in the threats, considered felonies if found guilty.

The cases were turned over to Youth Court, headed by Judge Johnny Price. The court hears juvenile matters including delinquency, abuse and neglect of those under 18.

Superintendent Price, no relation to the judge, has worked closely with Youth Court since he started in the position in 2003.

&#8220We’ve established a relationship unlike any other district has with a public body,” he said.

The district now shares information with the court for its decisions such as Judge Price receiving up-to-date reports on each student’s grades and any disciplinary actions that have already been taken.

Although Youth Court records and proceedings are confidential, the majority of students who appear before the court come from the junior high setting, said Rachel Hardy, youth court administrator.

&#8220Both Judge Price and his staff and Dr. Price and his staff have committed to concentrating their efforts on this group. We look forward to having a very good school year this year,” Hardy said.

Coming from the junior high setting does not necessarily mean the students are of typical junior high age, which is 12 to 14. Many of the problems stem from overage students still in junior high. Under the state’s compulsory school attendance law, children must attend school until they turn 17.

Although overage students have been taken out of the junior highs in the past several years and put in work-study and pre-GED programs at Grove Street School, the discipline issues are not completely solved, Price said.

&#8220The social situations and peer pressures are still there, and that’s what drives bad behavior,” he said.

Another thing that will help with discipline is the restructuring of the bus and class schedule.

&#8220We’ve restructured the bus schedule so we’re not warehousing the students at the schools before and after school starts,” Price said.

&#8220In the past, we’ve had three staff members supervising all students for 40 minutes before school starts. That’s just trouble waiting to happen,” he said. &#8220Whenever children arrive at school, they need to go directly to class without going to a holding area. We’ve organized an orderly dismissal at the end of the day to get the students immediately on the buses.”

Price said last year it was not uncommon for students to be at the schools from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although this year’s school day starts about 7:30 a.m., the same time as it did last year, the day will end about an hour earlier this year.

&#8220The bell will ring at 2:20 at the junior high. We’ve gone from an eight-period schedule to seven periods by eliminating study hall,” Price said.

In previous years, the bus schedule was worked around elementary students first, then high school, then junior high last. This year the junior high students come first, Price said.

He feels confident with the changes that have been made, due in part to the competency of the new junior high principals, Michael Winters and Magee, he said.

&#8220Both of these principals have worked in junior high administrative positions before, but most recently have been principals of elementary schools,” he said.

Winters was at Warren Central Intermediate and Magee, at Redwood.

&#8220They know how to blend elementary and junior high elements, so hopefully the transition will be smooth for the students this year,” he said.

Magee said he thinks the restructuring will be handled well by all students.

&#8220Our seventh-graders are accustomed to being escorted to classes, so that won’t be different to them,” he said. &#8220And I think our eighth-graders will take highly to our attitudes about it. They feed off of us, and we’re coming into it with a positive attitude.”