My meandering experiences have taught me that schools don't tend to work for HG+ kids for more than three years or so.
Many others here have said the same thing over the years. Well, some schools might, but they're probably the ones designed with HG+ kids in mind to begin with.
My other random observation is that if a school is telling you "horizontal differentiation only," there's a high risk that they don't understand HG+ students (or even know that levels of giftedness exist). If this is the case, you may end up tearing your hair out in a couple of years when your second grader, who is doing, say, long division or working on fractions with you, comes home with his seventh worksheet in a row asking him to do basic addition (as in, 6+8). I say this because "horizontal differentiation" can be a code word for "more of the same, with the emphasis on
more."
What are your precise concerns about the school that gets HG+ students? Has it been around for a while or is it new? Have you asked the people who run it about their outlook for its future?
Personally, my feeling is that you're in a relatively strong position. You have acceptances from two schools and both of them presumably want your money. If it was me, I would ask each school a lot of specific questions about how they'll help your child work at a level that matches his current skills and his abilities. I'd make a list and look for specific answers. If they waffle or give vague answers about how well their students do, beware. Also, if a school is put off by your son's test scores, remember that they'll probably
also be put off if you try to advocate for him when he's a student there.
