Reflective of the diversity of values and beliefs about education, the wide range of formal and informal educational opportunities in the United States includes: mainstream educational models, such as most public schools and some private schools; religious colleges; ethnic school programs; schools set up by different special interest groups; and continuing post-secondary education.

Systems of public education are government-controlled and therefore must reflect and teach government-sanctioned materials and interests. As the mainstream educational institutions, public schools are premised on and dedicated to the transmission of the values and beliefs of the dominant culture—generally white, upper-middle class, Protestant males—and traditional school subjects, such as English, history, mathematics and science, are most often taught through the perspectives of that group. National, state, and local curricular standards to which public schools must adhere tend to reinforce these choices, unless a local governing body such as a school board or teachers on their own initiative within the walls of their individual classrooms, elects to supplement the prescribed curriculum. There are some exceptions to the dominant model of public schools—including Afro-centric schools, gay/lesbian/ bisexual schools (such as the Harvey Milk School) and charter schools with different foci, such as students with special learning needs—which make explicit their support of and focuses on these underrepresented groups.

Premised on the claim that public education offers equal opportunity to all, there is a rhetoric of public education for democracy which says that all children have the right to free education and, in turn, have the responsibility to contribute to the welfare of the country—the majority from support, not leadership, positions. Efforts such as the 1960s War on Poverty, supported by passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and programs such as Head Start, Upward Bound and The Job Corps were attempts to ensure the education of low-income children and teenagers, but, critics argue, preparing them primarily for vocational positions.

Unrestricted by national and state standards, and created by and for the elite or particular interest groups, some private schools embrace and pursue the same values and goals as public schools. However, they bring to the endeavor from the institutional side greater resources, smaller class sizes and a greater variety of teachers (since teachers need not be state-certified to teach in a private school), and they draw on and cater to a population of students which more often than not belongs or aspires to the cultural elite.

Some private schools strive against the main-stream, however. Dissatisfied with some of the ways that mainstream schools address (or avoid) issues, such as evolution, sex education and nontraditional interpretations of historical events, some groups have established alternative forums within which to preserve and transmit their culture and values. One such educational option, religious colleges, emerged for a variety of reasons: Roman Catholic schools formed in reaction to Protestant evangelism and Protestant ethics and values, which insisted on a narrowly defined Americanism; white Christian academies were created as a reaction against racial integration and teachings they believe are not Christian, such as evolution; Quaker schools were created to pursue an ideal of education based on principles of non-violence, equity and social justice; and Jewish day schools proliferated as a result of a swelling of religious sentiment after the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel.

Other private schools based on a pedagogical approach also offer alternatives: Montessori schools, generally for preschool and kindergartenaged children, emphasize providing a stimulating environment for children in which they can learn, at their own pace, the elementary aspects of what will later be emphasized in school; Waldorf schools, based on the work of Rudolf Steiner, are built on the principle that the child as a whole must be nurtured and developed—emotionally physically spiritually academically—to produce a wellrounded and happy human being. Finally military schools, particularly after the Second World War and the increased mechanization resulting from war, focus on discipline, obedience, literacy comprehension of the need for a particular war and special technical skills as they embody the values of patriotism and national service.

Alternative models of education have also coexisted with public- and previously mentioned private-school options, created to serve constituencies outside the social and educational mainstream, such as religious, socio-economic and ethnic minority groups.

After-school—afternoon, evening and weekend—programs supplement regular public or private school education and strive to maintain and pass on particular values and traditions; community centers, camps, Sunday schools and health organizations (such as the YMCA and YWCA) all see high enrollment and participation. Ethnic educational opportunities generally run more on the after-school, supplementary model and, like the various forms of part-time religious education, ethnic schools saw a proliferation with the influx of immigrants in the wake of the Second World War. Corporate education also blossomed after the Second World War and has continued to grow, as have proprietary schools.

A desire for self-improvement—ongoing or continuing education after or in addition to compulsory schooling and higher education—is also valued by some. Of those who wish to ascend the socio-economic hierarchy (see education and society), there are, in addition to public schools, adult-literacy classes for both native and non-native speakers.

These classes are generally run by nonprofit organizations, community organizations (such as churches), or through nationally and locally sponsored programs such as the Adult Literacy Project in Philadelphia, PA. Some members of the upper socio-economic classes see self-improvement as a virtue and either return to traditional school contexts to further their education or pursue alternative forms of education.

All of the educational options addressed here reflect the possibilities for education to preserve, transmit and/or challenge the values and beliefs both of groups—including religious, cultural, or social values—and of the United States as an entity—including democracy freedom and meritocracy.