This communication will lay the theoretical framework for a study that has involved a whole community. Its members sought to understand the reasons why their school experienced a higher rate of high school drop-outs when compared to other schools with similar socio-economic characteristics. Partnerships links were established with university researchers in order to develop a better understanding and devise new ways to improve the situation so that the school becomes a truly rich learning environment. The whole system then engaged in collective reflexive practice in order to provide better support to the school and to the teenagers. Researchers were instrumental in this process since they put into place mechanisms to allow the expression of rich dialogues among various stakeholder groups. The concept of learning organisation was also useful in order to depict the capacity this school had developed so far in order to work upon its own change process. Problem Statement and Study Questions This communication will lay the theoretical framework for a study that has involved a whole community. Its members sought to understand the reasons why their school experienced a higher rate of high school drop-outs when compared to other schools with similar socio-economic characteristics! (Commission scolaire Au cour des vallees, 2001). Partnerships links were established with university researchers in order to develop a better understanding and devise new ways to improve the situation so that the school becomes a truly rich learning environment. Researchers were invited to conduct a study in one high school located in the rural sector of Outaouais region. Two general questions were addressed in this study: Why do children leave school before completing high school and what could be done to improve the situation? Theoretical framework: Trueba and Spindler (1989) have identified seven theoretical frameworks useful to understand the phenomenon of school drop-out. It includes the following perspectives: the individual deficit, a micro-ethnographic perspective, the social forces that affects individuals, the rebellion to conformity model, the lack of adjustment to school culture, the nature of the school system itself seen as resistant to change. In our study, we took a more systemic perspective in order to approach school drop-out phenomenon. We chose to look at the drop-out phenomenon through the different lenses groups of actors hold regarding the situation. We used the responsive evaluation model (Guba and Lincoln, 1989). It is the whole system who became involved in a collective reflexion process as well as in the identification of concrete solutions to improve the situation. Responsive evaluation was experienced as a community-based action research (Stringer, 1996). Besides the systemic orientation provided by the responsive evaluation model, the learning organisation concept (Senge, 1990) was also introduced. Its role was to provide the researchers with a picture of the situation regarding the school culture and its cohesiveness regarding its change capacity. Methodology Seven stakeholder groups have been met during focus groups sessions in order to better understand the claims, issues and concerns they express regarding school drop-out. The groups were formed with: parents, high school students, school drop-outs, teachers, school administration personnel, professional service personnel, members from the community. A questionnaire based upon the theoretical framework of the learning organization (Senge, 1990) was also filled out by teachers and administrators. Educational and scientific importance: Such portrait of the school characteristics as its members experienced them is important in order to be able to develop plans of actions relevant to such a community who feels both questioned and involved in active search for specific interventions. It is the whole community who is engaged in a collective effort in order to change the situation and transform their school into a stimulating and rich learning environment. References: Commission scolaire Au Coeur des Vallees, (2001). Notes de breffage. Unpublished document. Guba, E.G. & Lincoln, Y.S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation Thousand Oaks: Sage Pub. Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Doubleday. Stringer, E. (1996). Action research: A handbook for practitioners. Thousand Oaks: Sage Pub. Table Education-Outaouais, (1999). Abandon scolaire en Outaouais: problematique et pistes d'intervention. Unpublished report, 82 p. Trueba, H. T. & Spindler, G. & L. (1989). What do anthropologists have to say about dropouts? The first centennial conference on children at risk, Stanford University, N.Y.: Falmer Press