This paper provides a brief overview of present practices in school-community relations particularly in the South Eastern United States. The belief that the educational establishment had the answers to individual needs has changed into parents demanding input into the educational programs involving their own children. However, the changes thus far are not systematic, but operate within the framework of a status-quo orientation. A review of the social and political forces that generated changes in school-community relations in the South indicates that with respect to the status of student achievement, staffing policies, curriculum development and other parts of the educational process, Southern educators in larger districts are generally attuned to the need for developing and implementing viable school-community relations programs. New methods of distributing educational funds must be devised, however, to stop the fight for survival between competing groups representing the poor and racial/ethnic minorities. One recommendation suggests that for school-community relations programs to be effective in districts of any size, administrators, teachers, classified personnel, students, parents and all people in the community have to need and want to be co-partners in the development, execution and evaluation of educational programs. A systems model for parental and community involvement including these areas is briefly discussed. (Author/AM)