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...