This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…

Outlines 10 rules for reducing the student dropout rate. An important component is the establishment of a program that is well funded and staffed and has clearly defined goals that will help in the reduction of student dropouts. (MD)

This manual for dropout prevention planning was prepared to assist Florida schools in developing a comprehensive plan for effective dropout prevention programs in compliance with the state's Dropout Prevention Act. The manual is divided into three parts. Part A contains instructions for developing the comprehensive plan, as well as explanations of…

In response to the growing dropout problem, most of the northeastern states (and islands) and many of their local districts have implemented policies and programs designed to reduce the number of students leaving school. This paper presents some observations, culled from various reports, for policymakers' consideration. Section I offers a set of…

Programs to encourage dropouts to finish school need to overcome the roadblocks of credits, time, and support services. Highlights nine specific hallmarks of effective dropout prevention programs gleaned from a study of 479 programs titled: "School Dropouts: Survey of Local Programs." (MLF)

Strategies for preventing or responding to truancy and dropping out of school are offered in this resource paper. The document's first few pages draw on statistics from around the United States to illustrate the magnitude of the problem in terms of both its scope and its consequences. The paper then turns to its major focus, strategies to increase…

To help administrators answer important questions about student needs and dropout program effectiveness, this article offers a basic checklist of recommended characteristics, including a cohesive, systemwide strategy; clearly identified at-risk students; well-clarified roles; caring attitudes toward students; tough and compassionate staff; and…

This is a guide for the North Carolina Extended School Day Program, an alternative education program which provides youth with the opportunity to complete high school in an environment conducive to meeting their needs. The extended school day program is an extension of the regular public school and is an integral part of the comprehensive high…

This handbook is intended as a practical guide for adult basic education (ABE) directors, counselors, and faculty in an effort to increase ABE student retention. Following a literature review and description of the research problem, part I contains data obtained from the four major surveys administered during a project that investigated the causes…

Risks are taken in establishing alternative school programs but they can be minimized by giving the proper attention to several critical factors. (Author)

About one in four students who enter high school will not graduate. Numerous dropout-prevention programs have been implemented nationwide in the past decade to increase the high school graduation rate. This growth in programs has made it more difficult for educators to determine the effectiveness of the many alternatives. This guide is designed to…

Cincinnati (Ohio) has established a collaborative effort between the private sector, the Cincinnati Public Schools, and public elected officials for the purpose of reducing dropouts and reducing youth unemployment. Started in 1986, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) immediately began to study relevant data from the schools, defined at-risk…

In the spring of 1988 the South Carolina exit examination will be administered for the first time to determine if tenth-grade students will receive a regular diploma when they graduate from high school. School districts will be required by the Education Improvement Act to provide remediation to students who do not pass the exit examination, and…

A high school equivalency program held in a Baltimore, Maryland, housing project reported that last year 67 percent of the women who took the test passed it. Key components are computer-assisted instruction and computer monitoring of the womens' progress. Strategies for setting up such a program are offered. (MLF)

Experiences from dropout programs that serve at-risk students at a North Carolina school district identify planning and management considerations. Among these are that dropout rates and other measures of success must be standardized; and staff selection, duty assignments, and workloads are different for at-risk educators because of inordinate time…