Does Algebra not count as a HS class when taken at the middle school? Here, kids taking Algebra early start earning high school credits early.
Does the middle school cluster kids who took the 5/6 at elementary together? That would decrease the age gap by one if they do. Ours does, so it was also a high achieving/gifted cohort, which has also helped with the age gap.
Ideally, the schools coordinate so that math is what he misses while he's at the middle school. That happened for one of my kids but not the other. It's a scheduling nightmare.
The laws in this state make it pretty much impossible to homeschool just one subject, something I looked into for my kids for math. I never approached the school about it, so I don't know if they would have worked with me.
But you have a few years to consider it. If you choose the homeschool option, you can teach him laterally instead of following what we call the death march through arithmetic.
Our guiding principle for subject accelerations and compactions has been to meet the needs of the child in front of us. If the compacted class will meet his needs and the non-compacted won't, then do it and address the consequences of what he migh be ready for or might not be ready for later.
I would look into the homework load of the compacted class. If it's done like some schools - all the problems and all the units of 3 years in two- then consider whether or not he's going to thrive with that much work. If it's compacted by removing repitition, taught by someone who digs gifted kids and gets that because he 's younger and so might write more largely, struggle with emotional control, and with fitting in, then go for it.
We've never encountered any social problems with my kids being accelerated in their acceleated placement - the older kids have always accepted mine. We've even seen only the most minor problems with grade/age peers, and they would have been problems either way.
Last edited by geofizz; 05/01/16 04:57 AM.
