School reform efforts in North Carolina strive to reflect the understanding that changes in the ways young children and their families are served must be systemic and sustained. Intended to help schools evaluate their current programs and set goals for continued improvement, this guide presents program standards and quality indicators based upon national and state trends regarding best practices for early childhood and elementary school programs. The guide is divided into 16 curriculum areas, each of which contains practical recommendations for school administrators and teachers. The curriculum areas included are: (1) Alcohol and Other Drug Education Programs; (2) Arts Education; (3) Comprehensive School Health Programs; (4) Computer Skills; (5) Counseling Programs; (6) Dropout Prevention Programs; (7) English Language Arts; (8) Healthful Living Education; (9) Information Skills; (10) Mathematics; (11) Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten; (12) Psychology Programs; (13) Science; (14) Second Language Studies; (15) Social Studies; and (16) Social Work Practice. Early childhood education programs are covered in Section 11, where the discussion focuses on four areas in particular: parents and families, curriculum and learning environment, teacher role qualifications and training, and class size and staff/child ratios. The guide emphasizes traditional family structure and values as co-determinants of educational outcomes. (ETB)