We thought when we sent our DS, now 9, to pk, the teachers would quickly realize how smart he was and work with it. His school prides itself on differentiating.
Well, the pk teacher thought he was really smart, and on her own initiative said we should get him tested, -- but she also said pk was a year to work on social skills.
In K, the overworked teacher was dealing with all the kids in class who had as-yet unidentified LDs, separation issues, etc., and really had no clue about DS's abilities.
By grade 1, DS had stopped raising his hand and the teacher noticed he was "struggling" in math because he wasn't finishing his assignments.
My advice is start talking early about your child's needs -- don't expect the teachers or admins to notice them, no matter how HG the child. It's also good to focus on specific actions, rather than just saying gifted. For example, DS's 2nd grade teacher really responded to hearing that DS was a knowledge sponge and needed lots of information, and an opportunity to talk about it. She assigned everyone discussion buddies, so DS always got to answer questions (with his friend, if not in front of the class.)
This year, armed with IQ and achievement test scores, I went in to talk to the new teacher, and realized I should have stuck with the second grade approach.
good luck
bk
