I don't know if Jewel is reading as it sounds like this is understandably a very difficult topic for her. I don't want to pick her post apart for that reason, but I do want to address two points or so.
If your DS will be required to wear a gym uniform, ask what's the smallest size available.
As I mentioned earlier, I have girls and I imagine that the needs are different for different sexes. My youngest, however, is not grade skipped although she is among the youngest in grade and, technically, an early entry b/c we started her out of district to get around missing the cut-off for K by two weeks. Even without a grade skip, she is tiny, though. The smallest size PE uniform this year in 6th was a child's large (size 14). Dd11 was wearing an 8 slim at the start of the year and really still fits into some of her 8 slims. I had to have my mother alter the PE uniform shorts so they didn't hang below her knees and fall off her waist.
Point being, a small child is going to be smaller potentially for all his/her life. I do understand that boys grow later than girls and may not be destined to be smaller permanently as is the case with my dd, but if they are genetically likely to be small, that will be an issue regardless of age for grade. My dd would be a small 5th grader had we waited to start her in K a year.
It was not uncommon for 1-2 kiddos to be skipped each year at our school, at that time. I honestly do not know a single one of these kids who has done well socially - and some have not thrived academically, either. Many are in HS now. One graduated last year - at age 16 - and is going to her "safety" college, not having been accepted anywhere else. The grade-skipping days at our elementary are basically over, given what has happened to some of the older kids.
I'm so sorry that this has been the experience at your district but it does leave me wondering what data they were using to skip these kids. I may be in the minority, but I'd be more hesitant to skip in K or very early b/c it may be harder to tell if it is absolutely necessary at that young age. If it is clearly absolutely necessary, then school is likely to be a challenge either way. "Clearly absolutely necessary" early in elementary, to me would include 99th+ composite IQ scores, math achievement at least at 2nd or 3rd grade level and reading at least at 4th grade equivalency.
We have not seen negative outcomes locally from well planned grade skips. Where parents have pushed in the case of a kid who could be accommodated in grade level, where there were 2e issues, where the IQ scores weren't available and the kid was skipped solely on the basis of high achievement (a grade or a few above level in some subjects especially if it wasn't advanced in writing)... Those are the instances where we've seen it not work out so well (and have heard as much from GT coordinators who were discussing the ramifications with us when suggesting a skip for dd13).
My dd13 is finishing up her freshman year of high school at a one of the top performing high schools in our area in a high performing area overall. Per her last transcript, she is ranked #1 in her class of about 500. Granted, I'm sure that #1 status is shared with other 4.0 students, but I'd be shocked if she cannot get into a good college and has to settle for her back up choice.
