For nongraded primary schools to work, parents and community members must understand how to educate young children. They need opportunities to participate in local schools, and schools must make them feel welcome. Schools should not transition to nongraded programs too quickly, because all of the players need to feel comfortable with the process.…

Noting the fragile relationship between parent participation and school reform, this book tells the story of the Charquin Program, an alternative public school program in Hayward, California, dedicated to parent participation and notable for its open classroom structure and intensely democratic practice. The introduction relates the history and…

This short booklet describes Montessori elementary education methods, materials, and environments. The booklet discusses 6-year-olds as inquisitive individuals seeking to make sense of their existence and experiences. It also presents a cosmic educational perspective which emphasizes a global world view. Storytelling is discussed as a way to…

Three brochures for parents are presented. The first lists potential playground hazards and suggestions for improving playgrounds. The second describes benefits of the multiage classroom, comparing such a classroom with a traditional, single-grade class. The third brochure describes verbal, logical, visual, musical, and physical learning styles…

With the message that parents need to become informed about the educational practices that affect their children, this book offers a guide to different approaches to kindergarten, expectations for incoming students, and ways to obtain needed information for parents new to the process of schooling. Following an introduction that calls for increased…