I'd be careful with early college. You don't want him to be something other than a freshman when he goes to college full-time since most merit awards are only for freshmen. My middle kid got a ton of info from Simon's Rock - just looked expensive and I would rather spend the money on a private college when she reaches college age.
Around here, HS classes would clearly be more challenging than community college classes. There are also three 4-year colleges within a mile of our HS - taking a course or two at those schools would be fine, but I would avoid true early college programs (just my opinion).
