Thanks everyone. I'm still not certain what we will do - we found out we were accepted into the Spanish immersion program but honestly I don't know much about it and I don't understand how immersion works in teaching kids English (or anything) until the language is mastered. We are also still going through the early enrollment process at our local elementary.
We're torn because if we wait until next year and try to skip KG we will have a terrible time getting into the school we want since they have very low turnover. Argh! I wish this was easy.
Lucky for you school is still in session. Take a half day and go visit the Spanish school. Sit in various classrooms. Soak in the culture of the teachers, the students. Sometimes a school develops a culture of accepting diversity, and intellectual diversity is part of that.
As for the school you think you really want - also sit in their classrooms. If their Kindy is half day, many kids can thrive even if the fit is poor. Once you get to know them and they get to know you, the long process of advocacy can start.
Try and take some pressure off yourself. If your DD is unusually gifted then you are going to need to stay flexible, make lots of course corrections, and look for the 'least worst' option. If she's more the 'in good company' sort of gifted, then maybe it is true that you can magically find the right school and let this whole struggle fade. Psychoeducational evaluation may help you have insight into this, as might spending time around other kids, both 'bright skewed' groupings and 'truly heterogeneously' grouped. That's why observing the classroom is so important.
Best Wishes,
Grinity
