I wish we had a hug smilie! When dd13 was ided as gifted in the realm of "general intellectual ability" in 2nd grade, I too thought that maybe they'd be able to meet her needs now. I was told by the GT coordinator for the district at the time (she was retiring and probably being more blunt than would be typical), and this is a direct quote,
"Highly gifted kids don't last long in the public school system, have you considered homeschooling?"
When I asked about options w/in the public schools, she told me that the higher ups in the district were "philosophically opposed" to meeting the needs of kids like dd. That said, we have had some years that have worked reasonably well with some very dedicated GT teachers and coordinators who have gone to bat for dd and modified their class work specifically for her and a few other kids.
It has involved a lot of advocacy (both mine and from administrators/teachers) and a lot more changes than I ever would have anticipated making in her schooling given that we've lived in the same house the entire time. She's attended school in two different districts, attended a charter that was chartered through the state, homeschooled briefly, subject accelerated, grade accelerated, went to three different elementaries... It really isn't as easy as finding the right school and having it be a good fit throughout with HG+ kids often.
