So... now that you know you're not alone, how do you deal with the principal with the attitude issue? Well, here are some suggestions:
1) Bring ammunition. Insist the school pre-screen your daughter for the gifted program, so there's incontrovertible evidence of where she stands. Bring literature that pokes holes into some of his bad arguments (I wish we'd done this).
2) Go over his head. If the principal won't listen to reason, maybe his superintendent will.
3) Run. See what other options there are for schools, or possibly homeschooling.
Everyone always forgets:
4) Become the superintendent.
Although I must say that I found having my father as the superintendent to be somewhat annoying. Plus, we had to move into the district. So that's another downside. I liked my old school better.
On the plus side, you, as the student, know that the teachers and principal are ultimately answerable to your father.
This essentially puts the teachers in a position where they recognize that you (the student) have a de facto higher pay grade than they do and they ultimately must accomidate you.
However, this requires years of extensive schooling and years working within the school system. So, it's a 20 year process, which turns some people off of my approach because your kid will be out of school by the time you get there.
