I really appreciate all your great responses, short and long! It is especially helpful to hear your feedback on both immersion & gifted programs. Thank you!
Val you gave me some great points to discuss when I have the opportunity this Thursday to meet with some parents who have experience with the HG program. Also thanks for the info on CNED, I haven't looked into that before. I am working with him over the summer regardless of what else we do on English phonemic awareness, which the school believes will help him in both languages. They feel that if he starts 1st grade in the fall with his class that by the end of the first trimester his French will be good enough to bump him up to 2nd grade. I feel that if he is reading well by then that it sounds like a good course of action.
At this point that's the plan we're leaning toward. a) we like the school and the exposure he's getting there, which we believe will serve him well in the long run, b) his VIQ will catch up at some point, though perhaps more slowly while still in a French program, and c) 28 kids in a 1st grade class just seems like a bad idea, especially compared to 10-14.
I would still be interested to hear from anyone else with similar experiences.
Thanks again!
