Welcome AthenasMasters and alliesebas! This is indeed a good place to talk about GT kiddos. Many of us have experience with several types of schooling situations so we can share stories about what worked/what didn't work for our kiddos. Each family will have very different experiences based on the education options available to you and your child's personality and particularities.
Some things to think about. Make a list of things that you would like at your child's current school (dream list). E.g., full-grade acceleration, subject acceleration, curriculum compacting, specific accommodations, etc. Then you'll have to find out if any of these things are possible, which can be tricky. I recommend the advocacy resources on the Davidson Institute's resource list. We had success approaching the local school's GT coordinator, who did understand that our child's scores meant something very different from most kids she's taught. She acted as a liaison between us and the principal. We worked as a team, with parents initiaing it by saying "we've got these crazy scores, and we've been advised that the normal school path may not work, but we really need some help figuring out what to do." Even though the school was very flexible and willing to try to help, it ended up being pretty much constant advocacy to get more challenging work, and we came across roadblocks like "no, he can't join the 3rd graders for math as a grade-skipped 2nd grader because his handwriting is too poor, even though he already did the exact same curriculum before he skipped as a kindergartner." So after 1.5 years in the local school, we ended up finding a school for HG kids that as a baseline was one year accelerated, and they also went at a faster pace, and we transferred our kiddo there. So far, 1.5 years into it, we love the school, but are wondering what will happen next year as our son seems like he's taking another big leap in what he knows, pulling ahead of many of his classmates. We are hopeful that the school can still accommodate him, as they've been awesome so far.
I'm mentioning all this to say that there is hope that you can work with your current school, but even their best efforts might not be quite enough. And even if you find a better fit school, you may find that it only fits for a while. But then again, there are many here who have successfully worked with their local schools to get appropriate work for their kids all the way through high school.
Another thing to think about that was a foregin concept to me before I came to this board: allow homeschooling to be your backup plan (or your first plan if you're ready and willing). This will save you the stress of thinking that your only hope is whatever school option you are advocating for at the moment, and it will help you advocate with a clearer head. There may be a strong GT homeschooling community in your area too. I had never considered homeschooling an option, and didn't know any homeschoolers, but really you can give a most wonderful individualized education for your child, especially if they have any 2E issues.
Alliesbas - since you're new, I recommend starting a new intro thread, where you can introduce yourself and your situation more fully and not get lost in this thread. Also list any specific questions you might have.
Good luck!
