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…

Starting with the contention that we need to restore a wider range of choice to parents in their children's education, this paper lists and reviews the varieties of public education currently available throughout the country, and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. These varieties include magnet schools, alternative schools, independent…