Oh, I feel so humbled right now...so many others have had successes before me! But, since you asked, here is how our situation played out (in as small a nutshell as I can make it!)

8 months before our son, MrWiggly, would be entering K we realized that he was already doing stuff at K level or beyond. I called the school to find out about K curriculum and advancement. Found out they don't advance.

We had son tested by an educational specialist, for our own confirmation of his skills. Found out that he fell in the range of "highly gifted", with achievement scores in the 98th - 99.9th percentiles across the board. Called the school, sent a copy of the report. The principal and superintendent politely thanked me, but then said I needed to register him for K and the teacher would do her own assessment as the year progressed.

Deciding that K would NOT work for him (behaviors, boredom, etc) we took MrWiggly for private testing. IQ, out-of-level achievement test, adaptive skills assessment and screening for ADHD. This testing finally convinced the school to let him start right in first grade - just 7 days before the school year started!

MrWiggly was bored with 1st grade math by October. By spring, we had to pull him out to homeschool in math. After several meetings the principal had told us that they just could not meet his needs (not enough resources, etc) and that if we wanted to homeschool that was fine. At that time we asked if they would test him BEFORE starting 2nd grade so that he could be considered for 3rd grade math in the fall. Somewhere during the springtime, the principal came on board with us and agreed to do the testing. So, this August he was tested and they placed him in 3rd for math! With plans to monitor his progress and make program changes as the year progresses. And with a commitment from the principal that "we intend to be able to meet MrWiggly's needs for the ENTIRE school year." Yea! Advocacy success!

Hope that helps give others hope and some suggestions for the process.

NOW, let's hear more success stories!