Canada's public schools are essential public goods resources. For children to benefit, parents cooperate in efforts to support and enhance their children's education. In today's multicultural communities, parents have an increasingly complex mix of expectations, cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions regarding educational systems. Differing cultural and class backgrounds impact not only parents' worldview but also their specific goals for children. Educators note the increasing concern of parents in ensuring their children are prepared in terms of the embodied capital (knowledge, values, and skills) required for success in today's competitive labor markets. In this vein, a trend for academically advantaged parents to try to influence public school systems on behalf of their own children has been noted. On the other hand, Aboriginal parents wrestle with the appropriate role of traditional Aboriginal knowledge and cultural identity in public education, as well as issues related to continuing assimilationist impacts of the boarding school experience. In many mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal school systems, the sharing of increasingly scarce collective resources can result in misunderstandings and the failure to meet educational needs identified by either group. These issues are demonstrated in the experience of a small Northwest Territories (Canada) community with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents. (Contains 27 references.) (TD)