This fall, my daughter is entering her last year of elementary school. She is nearing the end of an era before the start of a big, new one that comes with a lot of change and much more independence.

At the start of a new school year, educators often marvel at the transformations that students made over the summer. At no other developmental phase is this more evident than early adolescence—the ...

My daughter's last summer before middle school ended with a back-to-school night. She met up with friends, and they giggled together as they walked down the halls to find their future classrooms.