Nine distinct programs aimed at reducing the dropout rate and bringing "at-risk" students back into the educational mainstream are described in this publication. The document first notes the social and economic costs to the nation of students dropping out before completing high school. The report then describes changes in Wisconsin's attendance…

Dropping out of school has long-term financial and social costs for children and society. This bulletin describes promising new efforts across the country to reduce the number of juveniles who leave school prematurely and who are at risk of delinquency because they are truants or dropouts, afraid to attend schools, suspended or expelled, or in…

The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge (Massachusetts) has developed a School-Juvenile Court Liaison Program. Central to the effectiveness of this program is the appointment of a school staff member who fills the role of a liaison or "linking mechanism" between the school and court. The overall objective for the liaison is to…

Each issue of "PRISE Reporter" offers a feature article on educating handicapped students and provides descriptions of other information sources, continuing and completed research, and promising practices. The December 1987 issue contains an article by Martha Thurlow titled "A Skeleton in Our Closet? The Special Education…

Truancy is a major problem in the United States that can have negative effects on the futures of young people. Truancy may lead to dropping out of school; may be a precursor to delinquent and criminal activity; and places students at higher risk of being drawn into behaviors involving drugs, alcohol, or violence. Furthermore, truancy has high…

The Learning House Tutorial Center in The Dalles (Oregon) was begun in 1975 as an alternative program for students who had dropped out of the regular educational programs in The Dalles School District and neighboring Chenowith School District. Now serving over 75 students in a downtown location, the center's year-round program includes a summer…

This report provides information about current research on at-risk students and describes the development of an at-risk program in an Oregon school district. After a preface and introduction, chapter 1 reviews current literature on students who are considered at risk of school failure. Issues explored include (1) student characteristics, (2)…

These five articles offer ideas on rural education, school consolidation, and community-based educational improvement initiatives. The first article, by Boyd Kidwell, gives a status report of rural schools, which are saddled by declining enrollments, fewer dollars, and demands for higher standards. Examples in Georgia, Texas, and Missouri are used…

The theme article of this issue, "Addressing Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood" by Brenda Greene, explains that pregnant students and those who are already parents have the same legal rights to public education as do all other students. To meet this responsibility and to lower dropout rates, schools need to make educational opportunities available…

An instructional plan to rescue at-risk students must be based on a curriculum intended to serve all students. The creation of a functional curriculum, the promotion of employability skills, and an emphasis on improving study skills are instructional patterns that seem to be effective in reducing the number of student dropouts. Two alternatives…

This paper reports on three projects in California that have attempted to stem the tide of Latino dropouts and increase the college-going rates of the Latino population. Each of these three programs has tested a set of strategies aimed at increasing the educational attainment of Latino students, who now make up the largest single ethnic group in…

This newsletter contains articles, policy statements, and reports of research concerning the transition from school to work as well as youth education issues, especially in the United Kingdom. This issue of the journal is organized into two parts. Part 1 contains reports on research projects on student retention in a forest farm community project,…

This issue of "Network News" focuses on efforts to remedy the dropout problem. The following programs' common goal is not only to retain students through graduation, but to ensure that they acquire the skills necessary to take their place as productive members of society: (1) the Classroom Partners Project, a collaborative effort between…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

Older teens living in families receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) face serious sociodemographic disadvantages. When combined with the characteristic risk-taking behaviors of adolescence, these disadvantages pose a threat to TANF teens' immediate and future physical, psychological, and emotional health and to their long-term…