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The development of optional alternative public schools is based on four simple concepts: (1) in a democratic society people should have choices about all important aspects of their lives; (2) different people learn in different ways; (3) learning in schools should not be isolated from the world outside the schools; (4) those closest to the action, the individual school, should have the biggest share in the decision-making. Optional alternative schools include open schools, schools-without-walls, continuation schools, multicultural schools, free schools, schools within schools, and the like. Whatever it is called, the alternative school has developed in response to needs within its community. Although each school is individual, most of them share all or most of the following characteristics: (1) the school provides an option for students, parents, and teachers; (2) it has as its reason for existence a commitment to be more responsive to some educational need within its community than the conventional schools have been; (3) it has a more comprehensive set of goals and objectives than its conventional counterpart; (4) it is more flexible, and, therefore, more responsive to planned evolution and change; and (5) it tends to be considerably smaller than conventional schools, particularly at the secondary level. (Author/IRT)

Optional alternative public schools have been developed as an expression of the democratic ideal of individual choice. Alternative systems offer the opportunity for individuated instruction, contact with the "real world" community, and community control of educational decision-making. However, reforms in the last few decades have encouraged standardization of public schools. Alternative systems can offer a greater range of flexibility and responsiveness to student and community differences. Open schools, schools without walls, learning centers, multi-cultural shcools, and free schools are among those possible alternative systems. English programs in alternative settings differ from those in public schools mainly in the individuated nature of instruction, which results in greater acceptance of individual diversity, more nurturing of creativity, more concern with the process of learning, and more attention to skill development. In the future, optional alternative schools will serve as a complement to the public system in the attempt to provide the best possible educational environment for every child. (KS)