It sounds like the conference went really well for the most part - congrats! I also second everything MON mentioned - excellent advice. I'll add one suggestion re writing - first, if you didn't ask for specifics re how his writing is not up to first grade level, follow up and ask so you have the teacher's input. In addition to that, look for a copy of your school district's K and 1st grade curriculum benchmarks - they may be online. See where your ds fits in with respect to writing. Also, I can't remember if you've volunteered or spent time in your ds' classroom, but it can be very helpful to have had a chance to casually glance at the other student's writing - not that you'd ever say in a meeting "but my child is clearly ahead of Lulubelle's writing" but because having that background knowledge of where all the other kids are *really* at can help you when you're advocating for more challenging work for your ds.
Another thing I'd consider - since the teacher agrees your ds is ahead in everything except writing and has said that his writing ability will hold him back from a higher level of reading - ask if they can provide some type of testing or concrete examples of where he's at in writing and what type of benchmarks he needs to meet before receiving advanced reading work and/or moving up to 1st grade.
polarbear
