This handbook was designed to help school administrators, teachers, and community members make a successful transition from a junior high school to a middle school. The focus is on the process rather than content. Chapter 1 provides an example of how one junior high school faculty and administration made the shift to a middle school. Chapter 2 reviews the history and current research of middle-school reform. Principles of change and the dynamics of conflict are reviewed in the third chapter, which also presents strategies for responding to the inevitable conflict that change brings. Leadership skills and vision building are examined in the fourth chapter, and information about monitoring progress and recommendations for sustaining the transition process are presented in chapter 5. Two tables, planning guides and worksheets are included. Contains a 24-item bibliography, and 21 references. (LMI)