A special report of the National Health and Education Consortium developed for health professionals, this document provides information necessary to promote the provision of adequate health services in elementary schools. In addition to an executive summary, introduction, and conclusion, the report is divided into four major sections. Section 1 defines school-based and school-linked health centers and discusses basic preventive health services. Section 2 addresses the question "Why 'elementary' school-based health centers?" This section provides a rationale for the existence of such centers and discusses how elementary school-based health centers fit into the school's primary function. Section 3 describes how schools work. Among the topics covered in this section are aspects of local administration (dealing with local school districts and school boards, with the Superintendent and other high level officials, with teachers, and with school nurses, for example), and federal and state level educational policymakers. The last section discusses how a health care professional can work effectively within the school system. Specific matters covered in this section include how to: (1) gather the appropriate information to run a campaign for school-based health centers; (2) seek helpful feedback from the appropriate persons; (3) design collaborative activities; and (4) generate broad support. Contains 10 references. (JW)