The characteristics and activities of schools with positive public images were identified in order to guide other schools in their efforts to reestablish effective relations with their communities. Recent polls reflect a serious decline in the public view of education, and the resulting confidence gap has created much difficulty for American public schools. A national commission established by Phi Delta Kappa to study this problem used survey cards and questionnaires to gather data from the identified schools. Preliminary results showed that public confidence at both the building and district levels was largely determined by teacher and administrator attitudes. Other important factors were special programs, building and grounds, and student achievement. These results suggest that schools could improve their public relations by working directly on attitude improvement and by developing programs and efforts based on periodic needs sensing techniques. (GJ)