Concerned about the persistently high dropout rates from big-city secondary schools, education leaders are trying a new approach to increasing the graduation rate--multiple pathways to graduation. Multiple pathways initiatives are relatively new and far from proven. Even the most advanced examples face significant issues, i.e., the need to…

This report explores two questions: (1) What can be done to recover and reconnect young people to opportunities for building useful lives in work, family, and citizenship? and (2) Who is doing what, and where, to reengage out-of-school youth while working to strengthen the communities in which they live? Focusing on the positive, the American…

A survey of California schools elicited 54 inservice teacher education programs to help teachers identify at-risk students and develop effective instructional strategies to meet their needs. Five programs were selected as models for statewide replication. Each model program met at least four of the following criteria: (1) a comprehensive,…

Mentoring students via programs such as HOSTS (Helping One Student to Succeed) helps kids avoid or tackle problems associated with substance abuse, pregnancy, gangs, and academic and social failure. A Dupont-sponsored program in Wilmington, Delaware, has helped students improve relationships with peers and adults. (MLH)

A California Partnership Academy is a voluntary school-within-a-school program for at-risk high school students. The program is based on a partnership between a school district, local employers, and the California Department of Education. The following special features are outlined: (1) close partnership between the school and employers; (2) block…

The California Partnership Academies Program is a highly successful school/business collaboration that allows students who are at risk of not graduating from high school to see clearly the connection between school and the workplace. The following key components are discussed: (1) an at-risk student population made up largely of the educationally…

The House Committee on Education and Labor, with the participation of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, met to hear testimony and gather information in order to support congressional efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of Hispanic dropouts and adult illiteracy. Testimony was heard from Richard Fajardo of the Mexican American Legal Defense and…

Personalized learning: Everyone knows it needs to happen, but how? It is one thing to believe in the importance of high school reform. It is quite another to embrace a system that helps every student leave high school with a diploma and plans for postsecondary education or training that lead to productive and self-sufficient adulthoods. This…