An examination of the growth and development of alternative schools in American society and their role in the public school environment. In Alternative Schools: A Reference Handbook, educator Brenda Edgerton Conley surveys the emerging alternatives to our conventional educational system-a system that is not only costly, but ineffective for many children. In a resource aimed at a broad audience-school administrators, politicians, and, most important, parents-Conley offers both a historical and a present-day perspective on alternative educational programs. What sets the alternative education movement apart, she argues, is its acknowledgment that we all learn differently. That knowledge has given rise to an explosion of exciting alternatives-from open schools to home schooling, from charter schools to church schools. These alternative schools are smaller and less bureaucratic, more responsive to the community, and more receptive to change. Describes the latest learning options, from blue-ribbon schools to virtual schools Offers a detailed blueprint for organizing and administering alternative schools