ABSTRACT
The concept of “community” is basically an encompassing one and difficult to define. In a very peripheral way, Getzels (1978) talks of such factors as the neighborhood in which the school is located; the families whose children attend the school, even if they do not live in the immediate neighborhood; the administrative district responsible for operating the school; the political entity whose taxes support the school; and the communion of minds that are obviously reflected in a sense of “spirit.” Because a school’s community may be perceived as all of these publics and more, it is prudent to consider other extensions which include the geographic community, the smaller neighborhood construct in which children’s homes are located: that is, the two-block area or street corner where children and youth hang out with friends; the academic community that provides professional personnel; the philanthropic community that supplies private funds to help operate special school projects; the political entity—city, town, or village—that may underwrite the supplies and also subsidize some other efforts through public funds; in essence, family-community links of moving and multiple associations that provide a cluster of social usages (Bronfenbrenner, 1979).
