Thanks for your thoughtful replies, everyone. You've given me more to think about. Re: friends--DS6 has basically one friend, who he has known since birth, who likes a lot of the same things DS does. DS does not make a lot of friends in school, but he gets along with everyone. I think back to my childhood, and how I didn't meet any "soulmate" friends until I was 16 (when I met one), and then at college age. I think, "wouldn't it be nice if DS had opportunities earlier to find like-minded friends?"
I guess my other concern is that DS is a teacher pleaser. He will not complain, and he doesn't want to stand out, but he's never been excited about school. I think we could make any school situation work, but I'm thinking that DS would thrive if he were in another setting, where he wouldn't be standing out so much. But then again, next year I think they do start a cluster program in the local district. It wouldn't be an HG cluster, but it would likely be better than nothing.
I will definitely talk with families of kids in the HG school.
