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## International Affairs Office, U.S. Department of Education Feb 2008

<http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/edlite-index.html>

Organization of U.S. Education:

The School Level

The individual school, postsecondary institution, or other provider is
the competent authority in the United States for nearly all academic
matters. There are nearly 130,000 individual institutions in the U.S.
education system, including nearly 117,000 primary and secondary
schools, nearly 6,000 postsecondary career and technical schools, and
just under 4,000 degree-granting institutions of higher education. These
institutions vary widely as to type, ownership, and governance
arrangements.

###### PRESCHOOL PROVIDERS

Early childhood, or preschool, education is available in nearly every
U.S. community, and most states now require that public preschool
opportunities be made available by school districts. Private preschool
providers also exist nearly everywhere. Preschool is considered part of
what is called Early Childhood Education in the United States, and it
goes by several names: nursery school, preschool, and kindergarten being
the most common.

[**ED Early Childhood Resource
Page**](http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/early/edpicks.jhtml?src=qc)
provides extensive information and links pertaining to federal, regional
and national programs supporting early childhood education.

[**National Center for Early Childhood Development and
Learning**](http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncedl/) is federally funded research
and information center on early childhood development.

[**National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
(NRC)**](http://nrc.uchsc.edu/) is a federally sponsored program that
conducts research, provides information and evaluates standards for
child care policy across the United States.

[**National Association of Child Care Professionals
(NACCP)**](http://www.naccp.org/) is a professional association for
child care center managers and teachers that also accredits child care
programs across the United States.

[**National Association for Family Child Care
(NAFCC)**](http://www.nafcc.org/) is a membership organization that
accredits family day care centers across the United States.

[**National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC)**](http://www.naeyc.org/) is a national organization for early
childhood educators and accredits both professional education programs
as well as early childhood education and day care programs throughout
the country.

[**NAEYC Accreditation Page**](http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/)
provides information on early education and child care programs
accredited by NAEYC and NAEYC accreditation policies. *NOTE: NAEYC
accreditation is a private matter, although it is widely respected and
recognized in many states. The U.S. Department of Education has no
authority to recognize or endorse the accreditation of early childhood
programs or providers.*

[National Afterschool Association
(NAA)](http://www.naaweb.org/about.htm) \> is an association that
accredits and provides information on programs providing child care
after the end of the regular school day and outside the school for young
children of preschool and school-entry age.

###### PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Primary schools are called *elementary schools*, intermediate (upper
primary or lower secondary) schools are called *middle schools*, and
secondary schools are called *high schools*. Heads of public primary and
secondary schools are called principals, while the heads of private
schools may be called principals, headmasters, or heads of school. In
addition, schools may have other administrative staff in addition to
teachers and teaching assistants. There may also be teaching assistants,
counselors, librarians and computer specialists, school nurses, food
service staff, custodial staff and administrative staff.

Public Schools. Primary and secondary public schools are governed by
local school districts and their boards. Policies and regulations tend
to be uniform across all schools within a district, but can vary among
districts. Individual schools are administered within the confines of
these general requirements, so autonomy is limited. States vary as to
the curricular freedom they give local schools, but most impose a basic
statewide curricular framework which local schools may embellish to a
limited degree, and also issue a statewide list of approved textbooks
for each grade level from which locals may select or, in some cases,
require the use of a single set of approved texts.

Schools are organized into elementary(primary) schools, middle schools,
and high (secondary) schools. Primary or elementary education ranges
from grade 1 to grades 4-7, depending on state and school district
policy. Middle schools serve pre-adolescent and young adolescent
students between grades 5 and 9, with most in the grade 6-8 range.
Middle schools in the upper grade range (7-9) are sometimes referred to
as junior high schools. Secondary or high schools enroll students in the
upper grades, generally 9-12 with variations. In the United States these
tend to be comprehensive schools enrolling students of widely different
interests and capabilities who follow different educational tracks
within the same school.

[**American Association of School Administrators
(AASA)**](http://www.aasa.org/about/index.cfm) is a national association
of school district and school building administrators concerned with
promoting public education.

[National Association of Elementary School Principals
(NAESP)](http://www.naesp.org/) is the professional association
representing the heads of primary schools.

[National Middle Schools Association (NMSA)](http://www.nmsa.org/) is
the organization serving the professional educators who work in middle
schools and parents whose children are enrolled in such schools.

[National Association of Secondary School Principals
(NASSP)](http://www.nassp.org/) is the national association for heads of
secondary schools.

[NCES National Public School and District
Locator](http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/) is a searchable database
of all individual public schools and local school districts
participating in the Public School Universe Survey.

Private Schools. Private primary and secondary schools are governed by
their own self-appointed boards of trustees and raise their own
operating incomes without state or local government support. They may be
operated by independent boards or they may be affiliated with a
religious organization such as a diocese, religious order, local church,
or state or national religious organization.

Private schools make their own hiring and admissions policies and
determine their own curricula and other academic policies. Private
schools do, however, pay close attention to local and state school
curricula and graduation policies in order to facilitate the transfer of
students to and from public schools and to ensure that students who
graduate from secondary programs have met or exceeded the expectations
for state graduation requirements and -- when appropriate - for
admission to postsecondary institutions.

[ED Office of Non-Public Education
(ONPE)](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/index.html)
is the U.S. Department of Education's liaison office to the private
school community.

[ED Private School Organizations
Directory](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/organizations.html)
is a linked directory of associations related to private schools,
including membership bodies, accrediting agencies, religious
organizations and others.

[NCES Private Schools
Directory](http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/) is a
searchable database of all private schools participating in the Private
School Universe Survey.

**ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS**

Traditional public and private schools are not the only recognized types
of schools in the U.S. education system. In addition to regular public
schools and private schools, there are several other forms of schooling
that are legally recognized and that serve as successful models for
parents seeking different educational experiences for school-age
children.

## Charter Schools. Charter schools are public schools established by parent groups, communities, or organizations to fulfill specific needs, serve special populations, or adhere to special curricula or instructional practices. They receive public funding and support but are freed from school district regulations and may enroll students from anywhere in a district. Charter schools operate via a performance agreement, or charter, that sets forth the mission, program, student population, and methods of evaluation and assessment. Charters usually last from 3-5 years and are renewable. Over 3,000 charter schools have been established since the early 1990s.

[ED Charter Schools Page](http://www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html)
provides extensive information about federal programs as well as links
to resources concerning charter schools.

[U.S. Charter Schools
(USCS)](http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/index.htm) is a
Web site providing extensive information on the charter school movement,
its legal status, and a state-by-state directory.

[National Association of Charter School Authorizers
(NACSA)](http://www.charterauthorizers.org/site/nacsa/) is a national
association of the state, local, and institutional authorities that
issue charters and oversee charter schools.

[Charter School Leadership Council
(CSLC)](http://www.charterschoolleadershipcouncil.org/) is an
organization providing managerial , legal, and advocacy assistance to
the charter school movement.

**Magnet Schools.** Magnet schools are regular public schools that have
a special educational theme, mode of instruction, subject emphasis, or
other characteristic and are permitted to enroll students from across
the entire school district rather than being confined to normal school
attendance boundaries. Magnet programs have similar features but are
located within regular public schools rather than being separate
schools. The legal purpose of magnets is to promote equal access to
unique educational opportunities by minority students who would
otherwise be confined to regular schools based on residence. Examples of
magnet schools and programs are frequently found in curricular areas
such as science and technology, the arts, or career education; and in
modes of instruction such as experimental, traditional, Montessori, or
others.

[ED Magnet School Assistance
Page](http://www.ed.gov/programs/magnet/resources.html) provides
information on federal assistance available to school districts seeking
to develop magnet schools or programs.

[Magnet Schools of America
(Magnet)](http://www.magnet.edu/modules/news/) is a national
organization that promotes the magnet school concept.

**Home Schooling.** Individual instruction of children and young adults
at home has a long history in North America, and was in fact the first
method of education available to the European colonists prior to the
establishment of schools. Home instruction was typically performed by
parents or itinerant teachers called tutors. Today, there is again a
popular interest in home schooling, and over 1 million students receive
home schooling annually. Home schooling is legally recognized and
regulated in all U.S. states. Home schooling is usually performed by
parents and there is an extensive array of services, materials, and
resources to assist homeschooling parents and children. Qualified home
school graduates are recognized as school graduates by the states and
may be admitted to U.S. higher education institutions.

Contemporary professional tutors offer services ranging from coaching in
specific subjects to a full range of school instruction to children
living at home, who are homebound, or whose personal or parental
responsibilities make regular schooling impossible. Tutors are licensed
by states and are often certified by professional associations.

[National Home Education Network
(NHEN)](http://www.nhen.org/default.asp) provides extensive information
and resources related to home schooling, including a directory of state
laws pertaining to home schooling.

[Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)](http://www.hslda.org/)
was founded as a legal assistance organization for the U.S. and
international home schooling communities, particularly those choosing to
home school because of religious convictions, but also offers a wide
variety of information and resources pertaining to the home school
movement.

[National Home Education Research Institute
(NHERI)](http://www.nheri.org/) is an organization providing research
and statistics on homeschooling.

[National Tutoring Association (NTA)](http://www.ntatutor.com/) is the
largest U.S. professional association for tutors and provides
certification as well as other services for tutors, remedial educators,
and private special educators at all education levels.

See also: [State Role II -- Tertiary
Education](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/postsec.doc)

> [State Role III -- Other Educational
> Services](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/state-other.doc)
>
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