The achievements, problems, and potential of community education (CE) were the subject of a 1983 survey that reveals the views of local and national leaders involved with CE. Based on an extensive literature review, a survey of seven open-ended questions was constructed. One hundred sixty-two respondents nationwide who are CE coordinators--directors, superintendents, principals, school board members, advisory council members, and "national opinion leaders"--provided information through telephone and in-person interviews. Following discussion of definitions and models of CE and of the survey's design and execution, the bulk of the paper reports respondents' opinions on these seven issues: (1) public awareness of CE, (2) professional educators' acceptance of CE, (3) links between CE and regular school programs, (4) reasons for CE's relative obscurity, (5) past successes of CE, (6) obstacles to future success, and (7) whether or not CE performs an essential role. The presentation consists primarily of anonymous quotes, grouped by category of respondent and interspersed with brief analytic paragraphs; successes and challenges identified are listed in tables. Conclusions on community education's status, achievements, and future--the last of which include several recommendations for strengthening CE--complete the report. (MCG)