Yes, Grinity - I DO wish I'd had pulled DS1 sooner, or never even sent him in the first place. Thank goodness he came first!
No, DS2 likely won't be speaking up to anyone other than me, it seems. I do remember him telling me in K that he was an okay speller, yet fretting that he couldn't spell spherical. Not that anyone had asked him to spell that particular word.
I wil be his voice and speak up for him. I do like the idea of a grade skip. (We skipped his brother 2 years but that was after 4 years at home. By that time we had SAT scores of 2,000, invitations to SET, etc., in our back pocket. We also enrolled him in a very small private school that awarded him a scholarship and was open to the idea of having him there. I don't think any area public school HS would have allowed him to do that.) This school doesn't appear to be too acceleration friendly. Heck, they won't even allow him to do weekly pull-outs and didn't place him in the 1st grade class with the brightest students from his K class. I feel as if I need an outside assessment just to "prove" to them that he is capable of the work. But since they don't accept them, what's the point?
I will start by trying to get him placed with his NWEA peers and see how that goes first, I guess. The new scores for this year should be available in 4 to 6 weeks.
There are 2 or 3 other school districts in the area that also have full-time gifted programs that begin in 2nd grade. We are already open-enrolled in this current district (due to their gifted-friendly reputation) so I'm used to driving an hour or more each day. He seems to enjoy the idea of school and wants to go (at this point). I am open to homeschooling again, if need be. Sheesh! It really shouldn't be this difficult.
Thanks for listening! I guess I needed a safe place to vent. I'm so glad this forum is here for all the wonderful guidance and comfort it provides.