Given the aging of the population, the need for an increased number of persons trained and educated in gerontology is evident. To date, gerontology curricula have been based upon institutional requirements and interests, such as the guidelines provided by the Foundations Project (1980). To expand these guidelines, the needs and interests of the directors of 60 agencies serving the elderly in Santa Clara County, California, were surveyed. The results indicated that few persons working in local programs have gerontology backgrounds, although directors realized the need for this education and would like persons educated in gerontology on their staffs. Knowledge in health and aging, psychology, ethnicity, and social work were needs stressed by respondents. Essential skills included resource awareness, planning, needs assessment, and evaluation. In comparing these findings with results of the Foundations Project, two of the three core requirements for gerontology education identified in the project (health and psychology) also were supported by the present survey. The third requirement, physiology of aging, was listed by a minority (48%) of the present respondents. In the area of specific skills, planning, counseling, and evaluation were essential to a majority of the present survey respondents, as compared to a minority in the Foundations Project. These findings suggest that gerontology programs should probe their own communities in the development of their academic curriculum. (BL)