The Hastings Alternative School Program (HASP), designed for at-risk students, operates within Hastings-on-Hudson (New York) High School's regular program. Students are given an external structure and set of expectations enforced by an accountability system stressing communication and student responsibility. Nearly half of all HASP students go on…

Binghampton (New York) Schools begin their dropout prevention efforts even before children are born--as early as the third trimester of pregnancy. One intervention program is PACT (Parents and Children Together), which helps parents become better "first teachers." The program's success derives from parents' effectiveness as teachers and…

The findings of a task force study of New York City's implementation of a State dropout prevention law are provided in this report. An introduction describes briefly the historical background of the legislation, called the Attendance Improvement-Dropout Prevention program, which provided $28 million in supplemental funds to school districts with…

The School to Employment Program (STEP) operated during 1992-93 as an employment-oriented program served economically disadvantaged, out-of-school youth between the ages of 16-21, with special emphasis on 18- and 19-year-olds. Program participants were provided an opportunity to engage in work experience or on-the-job training, to improve academic…

Executive and legislative branches of the New York State government have made consistent efforts to address the dropout problem, which is particularly acute in urban schools, through new initiatives and increased funding. State aid programs are summarized, and suggestions for improvement are provided. (SLD)

Poverty, violence, illegal drugs, and despair dominate the lives of many inner-city children, most of whom are Black and Hispanic. To reverse the social and economic decline of poor neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas, the State of New York has embraced an agenda, outlined here, for rebuilding high-need inner-city communities. (Author/BJV)