I am concerned my child is not being challenged enough in middle school classwork. We are in a very large school & school district. Who do you suggest starting with to discuss appropriate placement? I'm not interested in skipping a grade, but for my child to be allowed to take classes offered typically to higher grades. I'm pretty sure the counselor won't have the authority to make this happen.

You may need to give a little more information. Middle schools can be 2 year or three years. 6th, 7th 8th or 7th 8th.

I started by looking up my state's and school district's policies on subject acceleration. For us, my DD had to be identified as gifted first before we could even begin the process of applying and testing for subject acceleration. Knowing the policies ahead of time can be helpful so you know what to ask for. Some school and guidance counselors are very supportive of acceleration, but others are not; as a result, it's helpful to know a little about how the process works before going in.

You've received great advice above.

I would suggest beginning by learning how things currently work in your State and in your school.
- Become familiar with your State Laws
- Become familiar with your school's policy/practice statements (often found online at your school or district website).
Print copies and organize these into a ring binder for future reference, because laws and policies may change over time.

Gather evidence of your child's readiness for the advanced coursework.

Become familiar with common gifted-ed "buzzwords" so that you may understand what a school may offer you... prepare to ask gently probing questions.

Understand that kids need challenge (you may want to print the linked article in this post), and also understand that the current focus of public schools is closing achievement gaps which may often entail capping the growth of kids at the top... teachers may be evaluated on successfully closing achievement gaps; Their compensation and ability to remain employed may depend on this. With your child's need for challenge and the teacher's need to close achievement gaps being potentially at odds with each other, you will understand the importance of preparing carefully and advocating respectfully.

I agree with the above. At least in my state, school districts are required to have Gifted Education coordinators, which was the obvious place for us to start. They had well defined processes for gifted evaluation, annual Gifted Education Individualized Program creation, etc. The program was not widely publicized, but when our kids qualified they were very good.

Sadly, I've heard that it's much more challenging in some areas, so read up on the laws and all of the resources here on Parent Advocating.