Currently there is a growing realization that the schools are only one part of a larger network of learning environments important to effective education. Six societal conditions have encouraged a dialogue that is redefining the role of the school: the fragmented associations among all the educating institutions (family, mass media, schools, peer groups, church, and so forth), criticism of the school as an institution, the shrinking financial resources available to support the schools, fluctuations in the student population, the limited success of the schools in serving groups that have been marginal to the society, and the changing labor market. The boundaries of educating institutions should be permeable and educators should lead in establishing connections among institutions that share the responsibility for educating. This outreach can begin with the family, the mass media, and the workplace. Before responsibilities can be shifted, education must be defined, goals for all the institutions established, and the nature of the curricula determined. Building a coordinated system of public education that spans several settings may prove to be the educator's greatest future challenge. (Author/IRT)