I hesitate to go to the district gifted coordinator at this point, I wouldn't want the principal to think I was going "over her head".
I understand. It is hard to find the right balance in advocacy. Part of the problem is that it is difficult to understand the school's perspective. You mentioned that the school did not want to deviate from their curriculum. In Texas we have TEKS (Texas Essential Knowlege & Skills - I think) that every school in the state must follow. ALEKS aligns with the TEKS, which eases some fears and can open the door for conversation about using it. There may be something similiar in your state.
It might be worth further discussion with your principal to get a better understanding of his specific objection to ALEKS so that you can better advocate. He said that they did not want to deviate from curriculum. Does this mean that they will not accelerate in any way in math? It helps to know the rules of the game.
