Alternative schooling has been staunchly advocated for by groups disillusioned by government-sponsored public schooling that want to take personal control of their children's education. There are concerns, however, about nontraditional schooling options that do not meet standards that apply to public schools. The "United Nations Convention on…

This article features Glen Carbon Centennial Library (GCCL), Illinois, which is named "LJ"'s Best Small Library in America 2010. The attitude of doing whatever it takes to encourage every patron to come back permeates GCCL and is the foundation that makes it a model small library. GCCL delivers much "more than one expects." The…

"Homeschooling," "deschooling," and "unschooling" are commonly used terms in the alternative-education world, but each lacks specificity. In this article, the author describes what he discovered during several visits to North Star. Known officially as North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens, it is not as…

This article profiles author and activist Grace Llewellyn and her cult classic book, "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education." Llewellyn's book, which she published in 1991, created a controversy as it teaches kids everything from how to convince parents to let them leave school to how to…

This synopsis provides highlights of a national home schooling survey of 1,516 families in the United States. The study explored five fundamental questions: (1) What are home education families' demographic and educational characteristics? (2) To what extent have home-schooling families been engaged in legal matters regarding their involvement in…

This document presents the September 2004 issue of the Council for American Private Education's (CAPE's) newsletter. Articles in this issue include: (1) Students' Views of High School Vary by Type of School; (2) Action Needed Now on Title V; (3) Survey Looks at Teens--Online and Off; (4) Report Examines Teacher Turnover; (5) School Choice Setback…

Explores the implications of selected school reforms for library media services. Topics include school-based management; school choice; home schooling; inclusion of special education students; at-risk elementary students; adolescents and middle schools; secondary school issues, including school-to-work transition, curriculum reform, distance…

The 25th Annual Report to Congress has been designed to showcase the data collected from states and the national studies that make up the Office of Special Education Programs' (OSEP) National Assessment of the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. To this end, OSEP proposed questions about the characteristics of children and…

"Education Indicators" are facts and statistics that help to describe a public education system. They are tools which are useful in examining and measuring the effectiveness of the system. Examples include information such as the amount of local funds raised to support local schools, per pupil expenditures, pupil-teacher ratios, and…

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Indiana's children. The statistical portrait is based on more than 50 indicators of child well-being in the areas of: (1) demographics; (2) economic well-being; (3) early childhood; (4) child protection; (5) health and well-being; (6) education; and (7) juveniles and the law.…