Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Acceleration - DD 1 yr. younger than older DD

Actually, I think that the sibling issue is closely tied to the social issue as well as family dynamics issue, at least from the school's perspective. Polarbear's approach of arguing from the school's perspective is sound. I have twins who have been in the same classrooms except for math from second grade and most of their classes now in middle school. One child's social functioning impacts the other child's much more when they are in the same grade. You may want to address the potential for resentment and embarrassment if your younger child is socially awkward and reassure the school that your older child won't be forced to take care of her or share her friends. Remember that they are as concerned with the consequences for your older DD as for your younger DD. The other issue that I have noticed is that early elementary (K - 3rd), end of middle school (8th) and high school are often smoother acceleration points. Sometime around late 4th grade through 6th grade the social waters appear particularly treacherous to successfully navigate. That seem to be a common viewpoint among the educators with whom I have discussed these issues. It helps if you address concerns from their perspectives. Finally, in my opinion and perhaps the school's as well, the social effects of subject acceleration is very different from grade-skipping so maybe keep that in mind with your arguments. HTH