How Does a Community of Learners Maintain Itself ? Ecology of an Innovative School

This article asks how a community of learners maintains itselfwith the inclusion of new generations, each of which must explore the issue of what the community is about. An example of how new parent volunteers joined an innovative public elementary school is used. Four models of community maintenance defining the relationship between the community and newcomers are described and analyzed on the basis of observational studies of an innovative school and review of the literature.