Genierose, welcome!
the big thing that a very gifted child gains in acceleration is not learning more academics, because that will probably happen anyway with or without the acceleration, it is learning to work for it!
If possible the child will be placed where he can do well but not perfectly all the time, be challenged but not overwhelmed. That is supposed to be where most kids fit into a regular classroom. I have personal experience of just floating through regular classes and even 'challenging' college prep high school classes with zero challenge. Faced with some actual challenges in college and beyond has been eye opening and at first, quite daunting!
You want a child to learn perseverance early, not when a lack of it might really mess up whether they graduate from college.
Best of luck to your gs, reading up on current ideas on acceleration is a great idea!
