Check out the smaller program. Talk to those teachers and participants. See if they could come together even (maybe) for a meeting and include there parents if possible. The highly gifted parents are so right on and honest that maybe they will tell you exactly the pros and cons from their perspective.
Then, go with your gut instinct and don't hesitate to trust that reaction or instinct.
If you want to, you can analyze precisely what is giving you pause and then address those issues one by one with the right people depending on how your district works.
(First time through, parents have to get up to speed very quickly on how the district works. That process alone can take time. If you are new to that district, maybe you need an experienced person to assist so that you get good advice on what is going on there and how your highly gifted child figures into the big picture.)
Usually, I'd say, parents jump at the chance to have the much smaller teacher-student ratio. Depends on entirety of classroom situation though.
My opinion is that what is good for the profoundly gifted is also good for all of the other human brains that are developing right along with them because it raises everyone's standards and if we read the news we see that all humans want to see human society improve (Don't they?). Raising standards may do that.
Off the cuff, it sounds as though your child is going to be very successful, so (big picture) that will be great. Each year should get better and, in general, there will be teachers in high school who are thrilled to teach and challenge the profoundly gifted. They may have had the same childhood experience. (I am fondly remembering my Chemistry teacher in high school. She really was way ahead of her time, amazing, inspirational and aspirational.) So, hopefully, along with the disappointments there may be some pleasant surprises.
