I agree with OP. This is an excellent question to have. A couple of years ago, I went to an open house where the principal pretty much said that parents would come to him to try to change things, and he "knew better than them". Huge turnoff obviously.

Whoa whoa... "plotting" is a strong word that was never used. Issues come up at EVERY school and just wondering how they are generally handled at these different schools (is it the principal or principal + parents) which actually says a lot about the school

Your child is 4 and you’re already plotting how to keep their future school “competitive” and worried about whether a principal listens to parents complaining about a teacher they don’t like?

OP here! This has been very helpful. We are less overwhelmed but still have questions. How does the PTA play a role in these schools? How much of a say do we parents who want to be involved have in trying to keep these schools competitive ?
Let’s say the class sizes are getting too big or a teacher is really not liked by the parents or is not doing a good job, how does this play out in the schools? Does the principal listen to this advice?