DESCRIPTORS

Never has the public school been asked to merely educate its students for their own benefit--a benefit determined by students ' families and teachers; instead, the public schools have been expected to pursue loftier, more abstract aims that are remot to those they serve. If educational values should be determined by those responsible for children's educationparticularly their parents and teachers--then process must be provzded for these people to articulate their values by creating a school community. The school's constituents (administrators, teachers, students, and parents) can form this community by: (1) adopting a core of educational values; (2) transforming these values into goals and acting on them; and (3) establishing associations with one another to enhance goal achievement. The school community can unleash the family's power to boost the academic development of children, provide a safety net of support for children of negligent or disadvantaged parents, and energize teachers in their dedication to explicit aims. This document not only explores the school community meaning and the educational values on which it is premised, it also details the means by which it is created and sustained. The Franklin Elementary School Community's constitution is appended. (27 references) (KM) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made