Today and every day, in neighborhoods and communities throughout Philadelphia, young people are making decisions that will change their lives forever. Some will decide to stay in school, graduate, and prepare themselves for college and careers. Others, who left school without a diploma, will summon the courage to seek out educational programs they hope will help them to complete high school or earn a GED. But far too many will consider their circumstances, conclude that schooling cannot meet their needs or that they cannot succeed in school, and begin to travel a rocky road of disengagement leading eventually to a point of no return, where they will drop out and not come back. It is a road too often taken, that diverges from self-sufficiency toward dependency, from active citizenship to a life at the margins of society, from a future of bright promise to a struggle for dignity and survival. Each year, more than 8,200 young Philadelphians take this tragic path. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Johns Hopkins University, working with the Philadelphia Youth Transitions Collaborative, have developed specific profiles of Philadelphia's struggling students and out-of-school youth that surpass reports at the national level, as well as analyses in any other city or region. Those data appear in the companion research report by Ruth Curran Neild and Robert Balfanz, titled "Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia's Dropout Crisis, 2000-2005." This paper summarizes key findings from this research and suggests a series of actions. About Philadelphia's Youth Transitions Collaborative is appended. A list of resources is included.