Being a working mom he is going to daycare for most of his life which makes him a very flexible child. And after reading a lot of negative response on the internet it makes very confusing.
My son, now 14, is a July baby, started daycare at 7 weeks, one of the youngest boys, and was gradeskipped for a while. Mine was never a very flexible child that anyone could tell, though!
I think that there is so much negative response over the Internet and at the bustop because the kids who really need the gradeskip are pretty rare, and it's hard to sort out. Perhaps it's worth hiring a professional to do a psychoeducational evaluation to help sort out what we call 'LOG' - or level of giftedness.
You see, no one agrees on how unique a kid has to be before they are 'gifted.' There is no standard definition, so one has to check terms before hearing any story.
I've heard of schools that start their gifted program for the kids who are 'top 10%' in their school. I love this idea, because I would bet that all of those kids are spending way to much time waiting around to learn! But do those kids need a gradeskip? Probably the vast majority do not - well over 75% are getting a really appropriate education with the additional programing, and many would do quite well even without the additional programming.
Now let's think about the more common defintion of gifted in school, say 'top 3%' - this group needs to be well thought about to see if they need advanced classes, a single full gradeskip, a single full gradeskip plus advanced classes, or multiple gradeskips with advanced classes. Some kids are found with IQ scores in the 'top tenth of one percent.' In schools without advanced classes, those kids can get a gradeskip and still have a terrible time, so folks think gradeskips are bad, when really it was the lack of additional gradeskips that caused the problem. It gets confusing very quickly.
I can say that your school district is
very unusual in that they offer advanced classes in Math and Reading at a very young age. I keep hearing that most districts have no programing for kids who are ahead until at least 3rd grade. Which tells me that your district must have many gifted kids in it - which is good. And it also should reassure you that the teachers have some clue in what they are seeing. If the teacher is seeing your child compared to the other kids in the advanced courses and STILL wants a skip, it's quite probably that your child is 'unusual' and needs the extra challenge AND the advanced classes.
Contact the New Jersey State Gifted Association
http://njagc.org/for local suggestions for getting a psychoeducational evaluation and some advice, and also
www.heroesgifted.com/which is a New Jersey group for families of Profoundly Gifted (over 99.9%) children. I know that number can start sounding very strange, but really, if the teachers in your gifted-friendly school district is suggesting a gradeskip when there is already advanced classes availible, there is a good chance that your are looking at a very high LOG. Time, and perhaps testing, will tell.
Peace,
Grinity
