Chile offers high school dropouts a chance to graduate through enrollment in Second Opportunity Centers, located in cities ranging in population from 5 million inhabitants to less than 100,000. Participants in 18 centers were classified into four distinct classes based on their family situation, handicaps, employment, experience with…

This study examines Early School Leaving (ESL) and resilience in young people aged 15-20. It explores effects of negative internalised stereotypes on Early School Leavers (ESLs). Three Positive Youth Development (PYD) programmes were used to challenge these stereotypes in one Youthreach centre. 19 participants recruited from a Youthreach centre…

The ChalleNGe model grew out of a project by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the late 1980s and early 1990s that sought to develop new approaches for out-of-school youth. The project's final report concluded that aspects of the military structure could be beneficial for disadvantaged youth. The report also concluded that the…

The merits of a public campaign can rarely be gauged fully in its early months or even in its initial year. Rather, the true measures of a campaign's successes are revealed over time: in its ongoing impacts on opinion or policy, and on the tangible results it achieves. On both accounts, Philadelphia's Project U-Turn campaign continues to make…

High school dropouts face daunting odds of success in a labor market that increasingly rewards education and skills. This report presents very early results from a rigorous, independent evaluation of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an intensive residential program that aims to "reclaim the lives" of young people ages 16 to 18…

Hungary's "Belvarosi Tanoda" Secondary School offers an informal, flexible environment and alternative teaching methods for students who have had problems in other schools. The "Belvarosi Tanoda" (which translates as downtown school) is a second chance school for students who have dropped out of upper secondary education. It…

The manual--one-third of which consists of appendixes--describes strategies which are used to involve parents and parent surrogates in the St. Paul Public Schools' Model Program for Handicapped Out-of-School Youth (OSY). OSY offers three primary components that facilitate positive involvement of parents in planning: the team approach,…

The "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program" is a residential education and training program designed for youth ages 16 to 18 who have dropped out of or been expelled from high school. During the 22-week residential period, participants are offered GED preparation classes and other program services intended to promote positive youth…

Although school-based programs for adolescent mothers have grown, few attempts have been made to evaluate their impact. A review of recent evaluation attempts suggests that school-based programs are not serving a large segment of the pregnant and parenting school-aged population. Intervention efforts are discussed. (Author/BL)

The study examined whether participating in the "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program", a quasi-military residential/mentoring program for dropouts, improved the educational and other outcomes of at-risk youth. The study analyzed data on about 1,000 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts enrolled in 10 ChalleNGe programs throughout…

The report describes the Out-of-School Youth Program, a vocationally oriented program serving 250 handicapped student dropouts in St. Paul, Minnesota, and presents a model program for handicapped out of school youth based on that existing program. The model program consists of components that focus on the following areas: basic skills,…

Surveys alcohol and drug-use behaviors in relation to HIV/AIDS risk among 212 youth in dropout-prevention programs. Alcohol and drug use and age of sexual initiation are significantly associated with high risk. HIV/AIDS-prevention programs need to target alcohol and drug use as important influences on risky sexual behavior. (MKA)

The Los Angeles Unified School District has funded several innovative prevention/recovery programs to determine indicators that will help local schools identify the potential early leaver. This annual study for the 1983-84 school year examines the number of students in grades 10 through 12 who left school without a diploma. Findings cover all…

The Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) developed a Dropout Retrieval Project with the following aims: (1) to identify and retrieve the dropout students aged 16 to 21; (2) to bring the students back to educational programs which would lead to the completion of their education; and (3) to develop plans to prevent future dropouts. This report…

A study of 17 dropout prevention programs identified these common characteristics of successful programs: (1) multiple strategies integrated within a single program, (2) placement in environments dissimilar to traditional schools, (3) concentration of resources on a small target population, and (4) emphasis on vocational education and work…