The influence on youth of schools and communities--working independently or in partnership--raises important questions. How can schools and community groups work strategically to promote changes that meet youth needs? What form do existing interactions take? What benefits and challenges does the interaction pose for schools and their potential community partners? How and why should public and private funders do more to promote partnerships between schools and community-based organizations? The REACH youth program provided a laboratory for learning related to these questions, providing suggestive (though not definitive) lessons and insights. This issue brief examines school-community partnerships fostered by REACH, focusing on: 1) the nature of school involvement in REACH coalitions; 2) the substantive issues around which partnerships have formed; 3) observed and perceived benefits associated with the partnerships, from both the school and coalition perspective; 4) challenges encountered; and 5) recommendations for developing partnerships. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This paper was written with support from Lisceth Cruz Carrasco, Nancy Erbstein and Whitney Wilcox.]