Great post. I drove my son to our local college also. He started in the Spring of his junior high school year. He did not attend public school during 12th grade but received dual credit for his college classes and graduated and received his diploma with his class. He also took several AP tests for credit when he was a HS junior. He started college with about 60 credits already earned.
I think our public school system is failing today. You would not believe how many 16 & 17 year olds come to our GED testing center as public school dropouts. Many are gifted and score very high. It appears no one cares or tries to keep them.
An interesting statistic: About 40% of public school teachers enroll their own children in private schools.