Despite disagreement about the value of multicultural education, schools are putting some multicultural learning into the curricula already in place. This guide for parents describes the different ways that schools are teaching multiculturalism. Some schools emphasize programs that focus on information and teach about different cultural groups by adding to the standard curriculum. But the fullest programs alter the standard curriculum fundamentally and add multicultural information to all school subjects. Many multicultural education programs focus on raising the achievement levels of culturally or linguistically different students. These programs take many forms, but they are similar in aiming to help certain students learn as well and as much as students who are already high achievers. These programs can be viewed as compensatory. Still other programs focus on social issues and the cultural and political climate of the school. This type of multicultural education emphasizes human relations and uses parts of the other two types of multicultural education. Such programs may try to reduce racial tensions and to promote learning several languages ("multilingualism"). (SLD)