Primarily a study in the anthropology of education, the paper examines: (1) an institution charged with the task of cultural transmission, (2) the immediate sociocultural context of the school, and (3) some major sociocultural phenomena and processes both within the school and the community. This 1970 cultural transition study investigates the processes of the acculturation of Mexican American (or Chicano) children to the prevailing white middle class sociocultural system in the U.S. The public school as a formal means of cultural transition is a particular focus and the Coyote Elementary School (fictitious name) as a subsystem of the multiracial and multicultural town of Hidalgo (also fictitious) is the site. The various chapters cover: (1) research problems and methodology; (2) the sociocultural milieu of Coyote Elementary School; (3) social, cultural, religious, educational, and health institutions in Hidalgo; (4) an overview of Coyote Elementary School which generally focuses on services; (5) professional and human relations at the school; (6) teacher and staff attitudes toward Chicano students; and (7) a closer look at the school, which includes grade level organization, staff structure and organization, and teaching methods. Overall recommendations include the development of compensatory education programs for culturally different and low income children; institutional changes; and work on changing people's attitudes, values, and on creating a more humane society. (KM)