Chilean educator and poet Gabriela Mistral warned that children's needs are immediate and comprise more than just academic concerns. Implementing comprehensive community schools is an increasingly successful approach to taking her warning to heart, particularly in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. The reason is simple: education does not occur in isolation from the rest of a student's life. Other factors and institutions--family, community, nonprofit organizations, churches, universities, and businesses--play important roles in a child's successful education. A comprehensive community school sees itself as a node in a complex web of key relationships within a community; it also acknowledges its power and uses that power to mobilize groups, provide services, and educate citizens. The list of attributes is nearly endless, but there are a few specific things that comprehensive community schools do to serve their neighborhoods. In this article, the authors discuss a progressive school model and describe some indicators of school success. They offer some practical steps to get started on building a community school.