As a high schooler in a similar situation (am a web developer, have spoken at a conf before, likely taking a full-time job once graduated in June), I just want to give my two cents.<p>First off, I applaud her for doing what she's done so far. I think many people here forget the confidence that takes at 16, and especially with the pressures of public high schools for everyone to conform into the perfect image of a "teenager", it's great that she's found her passion and is pursuing it. Keep it up.<p>Now, about pulling her out of high school. I think it's really something on a case-by-case basis, and not something that should just be judged here by people without all of the facts. I think the biggest takeaway is that if she's happy with this path, then she should do it. Simple as that.<p>Personally, though, I wouldn't choose to do that. I've had the opportunity to do so, and I did consider it for a while. In the end though, I've decided to finish high school at a public school. I have a few reasons behind this:<p>1. My friend group. While I don't know what her social situation was like, for me, my friends have been very important to my success. As a group, we're diverse in our interests. We all have different ideas for what we want to do next, and how we're going to get there. This is what makes it awesome. The tech industry is, largely, a monoculture. So, I think it's very important to have people around you who are diverse, so you can grow as a person by knowing someone else's ways, views and ideas. This is important in high school especially, since it's the time when you're finding out who you really are.<p>2. Class selection. Building on the last reason's spiel on diversity, I definitely think having a diverse class selection is great. When I started high school, I already enjoyed programming, and was considering it as a career. So, my class choices were chosen to be everything I needed to move onto a good post-secondary program. However, the next year, I needed an extra class to fill out my timetable, and on a whim decided to take a film class. This turned out to be one of the greatest decisions I'd made. I got to meet some really great people (that are some of my close friends now!), the class itself was extremely enjoyable, and it really opened my eyes that not everything has to be focused on one goal. If anything, taking this course that wouldn't be for post-secondary has helped my career, since I have an additional outlet to be creative in, plus another potential career path that I'd enjoy for later.<p>3. Social situations. Again on diversity (I think this is becoming a theme here... ;-)), public school gives you the, uh, "opportunity" to deal with many... interesting people. In other words, you have to deal with people that aren't like you. While it's not always easy, I think it's one of the biggest things that public schooling can teach you. In life, not everyone is like you, and if you're immersing yourself in a monoculture early, you miss out on being able to deal with these people. It's a life skill, and for anyone wanting to move up into any sort of management, it's something that I think is necessary.<p>Overall though, this is all just my opinion. I'm not here to say that what this father did was wrong, and that his daughter will regret this, blah blah blah. In the end, I'm sure she'll be just fine, and likely be successful. Doing things differently is great, and while it may not always be 100% optimal, that's also life. Nothing is 100% optimal. We're all just trying to make the best choices we can. This father thinks he's done so, and good on him.