A survey of 97 Florida and Georgia middle schools and their receiving high schools revealed that schools with two or fewer transition practices had significantly higher attrition and dropout rates than schools implementing three or more practices. Sample programs include the ninth-grade house, parent nights, advisory/mentoring programs, and…

To address the retained-student dropout rate and increase parent involvement, a Fort Lauderdale (Florida) middle school principal devised a program to help overage seventh graders catch up with their peers in one year and help parents achieve their own education goals. The Rogers' Achievement Program stresses basic skills, student-designed…

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project that assists school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project was the development of a database of school district efforts in the area…

This guide for parents of children with disabilities in Florida is intended to answer common questions about the exceptional student education program. The first chapter provides an overview of exceptional student education including laws about the education of children with disabilities, parents' records, planning a child's education, continuing…

Florida's Family Transition Program (FTP) combines a welfare time limit of 24-36 months with services, requirements, and financial incentives designed to help welfare recipients find and hold jobs. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) applicants who were not incapacitated, disabled, or otherwise exempt from the FTP program were randomly…

To find the students who need help, college officials are starting new testing programs, sharing more information with high-school teachers and administrators, and joining with high schools to sponsor special programs for students and teachers. Programs in Ohio, New Jersey, and Florida are described. (MLW)

This study investigated the various funding sources used by programs which serve and support youth and young adults with emotional and/or behavioral disabilities (EBD) as they transition into adulthood. Initial data from a survey of 18 program sites in Florida that are serving this target population resulted in the identification of more than 40…

This paper discusses the role of transition in school reform and methodology for developing a Florida database on transition-related programs. It describes procedures for ensuring the validity and reliability of database information sources. Findings from the data collection process, concerning common program terminology and school district size…

Discusses results of a study that identified promising practices in both dropout prevention and transition programs for youth at risk in 67 Florida school districts. Practices related to timing (grade range), curriculum, setting, and partnerships are reviewed. (SLD)

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project to assist school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project attempted to establish a consensus among experts in the fields of…

America's current systems of K-12 and higher education are based on the traditional view that only an elite group of students attends college. Today, the majority of students attend some form of postsecondary education after high school. These students encounter numerous challenges: many do not complete their programs of study, almost half the…

This report describes a 3-year project (1987-1990) implemented to assist migrant families and their children in transition to public school kindergarten and developmental kindergarten classes. The project served 30 children and 24 families in Ft. Pierce, Florida, approximately 75 percent of whom were Hispanic and 25 percent were Haitian. Goals…

Literature on current methods of teaching language in bilingual education is reviewed and a new approach is suggested. It is suggested that a specialized sequence of native language courses should be offered to populations of language minority students with the same vernacular language. The approach proposed integrates bilingual education, English…

This study assessed the effects of a Brevard County (Florida) high school-based vocational training and community-based on-the-job training program called Brevard's Exceptional Students in Transition (BEST). Results indicated positive improvements in vocational skills and behaviors of participants in the BEST program. (JDD)

This document was produced for the dual purpose of documenting the methods used between 1990 and 1992 to train interagency teams on interagency collaboration in planning for the school-to-work or school-to-postsecondary education transition of disabled students in Florida and presenting step-by-step guidelines for developing and maintaining…