In the last five years, a growing number of large, urban school districts have moved to close what are termed "troubled" 6-8 middle schools and have opened K-8 schools in their place: Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Newark, New Orleans, New York City, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia have been among the first to do so. With a little fervent support for its continuation, and a preference for an alternative gathering momentum in major urban American school districts, it is possible that a substantial reconfiguration of schooling for young adolescents will continue. District leaders moving to K-8 have asserted, that their young adolescents will be better served in K-8 schools with an "elementary flavor" than they have been in the so-called "troubled" middle schools. In this article, the author discusses the negative and positive outcomes of this reconfiguration. Thus, the author states that "troubled" middle schools are likely to result from troubled lives and that troubled schools are not the result of the grade configuration or the name of the school. (Contains 1 figure.)