JBDad,

Our approach was this:

We treaded lightly with the school when we first talked to them. We approached them with general questions about their gifted program and acceleration policies. We did not go in with the expectation that a plan would be made right away. We made sure that he did every scrap of Kindergarten work and turned it in, no matter how easy it was. We recorded all his reading on the reading log. After his abilities became apparent to the teacher we started talking to her about differentiating his classwork. That led to a test to determine his reading level. We applied to DYS and asked the vice principal to write him a recommendation. To do that, she did a 1 hr "interview" with him where he did 2nd grade money problems for her.

The K teacher began to realize how difficult it would be for her to provide appropriate work for him in the K class. We never said he was "bored" but I expressed my concern that he was getting in the habit of tuning out in class and that the lack of challenge was not good for his work ethic.

I then went to work on the principal. I formally requested that he skip to second grade next year. She reluctantly agreed to let DS try going to first grade in the afternoons (after his morning K.) It went very well--I don't think she was expecting that. She began to tell me how "unusual" our request was so I brought her a copy of A Nation Deceived (vols. I and II) and his IQ scores. I said that I understood that our request was unusual but that this was an unusual situation. Two days later, he was officially a first grader.

The whole process took several months. I am in CA where K is not required either. In CA, you have to be at least 5 to be early entranced to first. DS was switched to first when he was 5yrs and 4mos.

It's good to sit in on the classes to get a feel, not just for the curriculum, but also for how structured the environment is.

If the K is in a separate school you may want to go to the Elem. school and talk to them about their early entrance requirements. You may also be able to find policies for your district and state online, which is a good idea. That way, you won't be snowballed by administrators who tell you it's "against their policy" to do something.

Cathy