Although the transition from elementary school to middle school can be an exciting time for students, it can also be vexing and traumatic. Often, when parents drop off their children at middle school on the first day of school, the scene is reminiscent of the first day of school for kindergarteners and their parents. At Albert Leonard Middle School in New Rochelle, New York, administrators and teachers don't see much kicking and screaming from their incoming sixth-grade students (nor many tears from their parents), but they are accustomed to looks of fear and trepidation, uncertainty, and dread. Because administrators and teachers were concerned about the transitional difficulties that many sixth-grade students were having, over the years they have developed a three-phased approach designed to ease the transition from elementary to middle school. Using fifth-grade visits and orientations, a summer academy for students who need additional academic support, and a team building and character education program used to welcome students during the first two days of school, educators at Albert Leonard have effectively supported sixth-grade students through the daunting move from elementary school.