An effort was made to expand parents' comprehension of developmentally appropriate programs through increased understanding of teacher observation in the early childhood classroom and teacher anecdotal reporting in family conferences. Corollary aims were to increase knowledge of children's learning styles to enable better school choices, and to encourage parent attendance at educational decision-making workshops. The setting was a racially mixed inner-city preschool demonstration program of 135 children in a large Northeast urban school system. Six workshops were held to introduce developmentally appropriate programs and improve teacher observational techniques and reporting mechanisms. Partnerships involving parents, the coordinator, the director, and the practicum writer and team were established and operated as an information resource and line of exchange. The practicum demonstrated that: (1) parent training should be held together with teacher training whenever possible; (2) better informed parents make for better school choices for children; (3) parent-teacher conferences need supportive and well-understood processes and mechanisms for success; and (4) average parents are interested in managing the learning activities and choices of their children. Two figures and six tables illustrate aspects of early childhood education. Eight appendixes contain supplemental information about the inservice program and workshops, including the observation checklist, a sample questionnaire, and communications with parents. Forty-six references are included. (SLD)