Developments in schools that redefine the relationship between school and community are described in this paper. The Environment and School Initiatives (ENSI) project seeks to combine two apparently contradictory aims of education: to develop "environmental sensitivity" and to promote students'"dynamic qualities" by involving them in coping with problems in their immediate internal and external environments. The first part of this paper presents examples of ENSI activities in which students and teachers are involved and describes the features common to these activities. Programs implemented in Austria, Bavaria, Italy, and Norway are briefly described. Two new tasks of education that have emerged from the process of opening the schools to the community are the production of local knowledge, and action to improve environmental conditions. In addition, opening the schools has facilitated the growth of dynamic exchange networks. The second section of the paper outlines the social forces that stimulate development and the challenges they pose for schools. Increasing social complexity and insecurity and the reduced decision-making capacity of socioeconomic systems contribute to the need for decentralized responsibility. (13 references) (LMI)