Elementary charter schools increasingly serve students who are at-risk for reading challenges, giving them a critical role in establishing literacy for young children. This article examines the complexities of starting early childhood literacy programs in charter schools. Specifically, the first year of K-3 literacy programs in a new and a…

This article features Discovery Children's Centre, one of the highest quality centres in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Discovery Children's Centre believes that children, who may have little or no voice in a democratic society, can be heard if some adult will speak on their behalf. Even as it has grown from 35 to 230 children, quality has…

In 12 brief chapters, a view is provided of elementary school improvement efforts made by participants in the Contact School Plan of the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Co-operation. The Contact School Plan created a network of 12 schools implementing innovative educational practices in as many nations. Chapters 1 and 2 describe the…

River Oaks Elementary is a public school in Houston Independent School District's Vanguard Magnet Program. Magnet programs are one of the district's ways of providing parents with choice in public education. The Vanguard program serves students who have been identified as potentially gifted and talented in intellectual ability, creativity, or…

During this period of social and political transformation in the former Soviet Union, there is no typical Russian school. Open-type schools generally emphasize student self-development. Students' intellectual, personal, and spiritual upbringing depends on a school's socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental context. Teaching practices must be…

Described is a visit to the Fajans School in Falkenberg, Sweden, a single stream elementary school with an integrated nursery and day care center. Serving 220 children, the Fajans school does not grade according to age or ability. The nursery school provides 47 day care places, plus 18 in a part-time day nursery and 30 for children 7-12 years old…

Describes Forest Glen Elementary School, a successful K-5 magnet school with an international focus located in suburban Indianapolis. Explains how three components of the curriculum--the foreign-language program, wise use of technology, and child-centered climate--are helping prepare students for tomorrow's world. (TJQ)