Also, be aware that there may be friction between staff members in the school that will affect decisions made concerning your child. Teachers are very sensitive to comments from other teachers. Teachers want and need the respect and cooperation of their peers. The teacher may be justifiably concerned that the child's cognitive development does not match the level required for the new grade. Classroom activities and assignments are structured differently for children who are concrete thinkers than for those who are abstract thinkers.
Gifted children are often capable of complex concrete reasoning.
But, developmentally they may not be able to make the jump to abstract reasoning. This can cause frustration and tears in the classroom when the child is unable to complete assignments requiring abilities that, developmentally, are beyond him. The classroom teacher may be justifiably concerned that she will not have the time necessary to help the gifted child catch-up or adjust in the classroom. Mainstreaming combined with budget cuts has placed the burden of making adaptations for children with disabilities upon many classroom teachers. These are just a few of the many possible road-blocks that you may encounter.