Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Acceleration vs in class differentiation for math?

We moved to a school that placed him in a special class (ability grouping) where kids were accelerated 2-3 years in math - he is happier now - a lot of the kids are hothoused and go to evening classes in math centers, but, he has met 5 kids who are at the same level in math as him - they are his peers and he is feeling competitive and energized in class because he enjoys the interactions with them.
This placement is not perfect, but we appreciate that DS can meet kids who have as much passion for math as him.
We are continuing to after school in his strength areas, because he has the ability to handle more than what the classroom provides, but, he learns a lot in the class as well (this year, he has been learning geometry and it is new to him, though he gets the concepts quickly, he is thrilled to learn something new at school).