The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of (a) program design and delivery, (b) professional development opportunities for teachers and leaders, and (c) the inclusion and support of campus leadership among campus principals of gifted programs in small, rural public high school settings within a region of a Southwestern state that include large numbers of such school settings. A purposive sample of rural high school campus principals were surveyed and interviewed in order to explore their perceptions with regards to the gifted education program on their respective campuses. Results from this study indicated that participants held an overall sense of dissatisfaction with gifted education programs on their rural high school campuses when considering program design and delivery. Principals reported limited professional development opportunities and variability in program support, citing time and money as barriers to effective program implementation. Thus, the results of the study support previous research indicating great variability in programming in rural schools. Further research is needed in order to determine if similar findings can be extended on a larger scale with regards to geographic location and participant pool. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]