Talk about best practices for working parents! These mom-nominated schools are the best.

We know there are great schools out there—and so do you! That's why, when we asked you to nominate schools that offer your child an excellent education and go out of their way to involve and include working moms like you, the emails came pouring in from across the country. And you know what? All the schools you nominated, without exception, are winners! The four that we selected to profile in these pages rose to the top as shining examples of U.S. schools that serve working families and their kids well. Congratulations to these stars—St. Alexis in Pennsylvania, Carbon Valley Academy in Colorado, Southwest Junior High in Arizona and South Valley School in Utah—and to every school that strives to make parent involvement as easy as 1-2-3.

St. Alexis Catholic School, Wexford, PA
Nominated by Darla LaRosa, mom of two You don't hear many cries of "Mommy! Don't leave me!" at the preschool door of St. Alexis Catholic School in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wexford. That's because of a unique method of drop-off: Families merely pull up to the curb in the morning, then wait for the preschool teacher and her aides to greet the kids and help them out of their car seats.

It's a great way to start the day, parents say. It cuts down on kids' separation anxieties, because the kids are already removed from their parents by sitting in the backseat. It also gives parents time for a quick, one-on-one chat with the teacher, and working moms or dads can then drive right off. But these types of helpful practices don't stop at St. Alexis's curb. Just ask dental hygienist Darla LaRosa. "St. Alexis is a really nice, caring and loving place that makes every effort to get working parents involved," she says.

For working parents of preschoolers, getting involved may mean giving the kids a show-and-tell (such as a physical therapist who hauled in a skeleton to teach about bones).