We actually had an awesome teacher for ds in first grade. He was between her highest group and the next highest group in a combined 1/2 classroom. There were no 1st graders in either of those groups. She placed him in the higher group stretching him a bit. By Thanksgiving break he had not only caught up to the kids in this group but left them in the dust. He started kinder barely reading (a late reader by GT standards) , started 1st at a F&P "M" and finished 1st at F&P "U". His MAP scores showed HUGE jumps.

If you have a teacher who "gets" gifted kids... they will follow the lead of the child.