In the course of evaluating the Educational Partnerships Program of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, researchers often heard the aphorism "It takes a whole village to raise a child." The village image appeared a powerful metaphor for program participants. This paper develops the hypothesis that the language and metaphors used by partners either facilitates or impedes the development, impact, and institutionalization of partnerships, depending on how accurately the language fits what actually occurs in the partnership. Following an introductory program description, the second section of the report summarizes study findings, emphasizing types of partnerships that achieved greatest success. The third section affirms that a good fit between metaphor and program activities, structures, and goals is associated with successful partnerships. Whether or not it takes the whole village depends on what is meant by raising the child. Productive workers can be prepared by a few dedicated community members, but a caring and nurturing environment may indeed require the whole village. One table and one figure illustrate the discussion. (Contains 15 references.) (SLD)