Hi Coco,
I�ve been lurking on this thread. I had the same decision to make last year. What to ask for and how much to ask for? I tend to agree with Dottie on the �good group.� My DS is just finishing 6th at the middle school. His grade is stacked. In kindergarten, it was clear this group had a lot of really bright kids. Approximately 30% of his grade scores in the 99%tile on the standard grade level testing. A good number of them are clearly gifted not just bright. I have always loved this for him. It keeps him humble. I think the impact has been very positive for him to be surrounded by other gifted kids. When he was very little I worried he would be the arrogant self- absorbed smart kid that couldn�t work with his peers. He has support and respect for and from his peers. He still is ahead of his peers academically, but he can have good conversations with them at the lunch table. He feels valued and respected by them. They tend to be amazingly supportive of one another�s achievements rather than petty and jealous. He works above grade level in all subjects. He is accelerated in Math and English. Math is 3 yrs. ahead and the teacher allows him to move at his own pace. The English/ Writing teacher has him working on 12th grade material. The Science teacher has had him test of out units all year and then gives him independent investigations. His Orchestra teacher will give promising students extra music to work on. He gets a lot of his academic needs met and has a decent group of peers.
If you can meet his needs and keep him with a strong peer group it will help so much when the hormones hit. My DS is turning 12 during 7th grade, and we live in a district where academic red-shirting is the norm. Many of his peers are turning 13 now or in the next few months. He is already 1+ years younger than most of his peers. He fits well, but does complain about being the smallest and the youngest. He has not been able to do all the activities at times because of his age. This year he won an essay contest held by a museum. The class was given a tour of the museum because he won. He was unable to go to all of the tour because the exhibits had age restrictions. He sometimes pays the price for his age. He wouldn�t want to be bored either but it certainly stinks for him at times. He logically understands that he is younger but still isn�t fun to be left out of activities.
It was the right decision for us. He is had his best year to date. Given the set up of our middle school, he is able to take many of his state required HS classes on site. He still has the grade level experiences with the academic challenges. His peers matter a lot right now and I�m grateful he has such a smart and driven group of peers.
Just my 2 cents, good luck I know it�s a tough choice.
