Contemporary school reform strategies require extensive school-community collaboration, yet the actualization of this goal is very difficult to achieve. Social class and cultural barriers often impede the development of cooperative relationships between school staff, parents, and other community members. In this qualitative study of a planning year for a full-service elementary school, the authors discuss conflicts and tensions that emerged between various groups of participants as well as avenues for coalition and cooperation. A year of field observation and interviews with 21 school staff and 14 community members form the basis for recommendations for successful school-community collaborations in urban schools.
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