Secondary school administrators are increasingly finding themselves in the position of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI). This system of providing progressively intensive levels of intervention for the purposes of preventing academic failure and identifying children with learning disability may be useful at the secondary level. However,…

The recent policy focus on the turnaround of persistently low-achieving schools has generated considerable debate about the reforms needed to dramatically and quickly increase school performance. The purpose of this article is not to focus on specific turnaround interventions, but rather on the identification of schools slated to receive these…

Effective treatment programs for students with serious emotional and behavior disturbances have used several approaches, including continuous assessment and monitoring of progress; systematic, consistent, data-based interventions; provision for practicing new skills; treatment matched to problem; multicomponent treatment; programing for transfer…

Little is known about the feasibility and rapidity with which the academic learning of students who enter high school multiple years behind grade level can be accelerated. This study uses multiple regression analyses of standardized test and survey data from high-poverty high schools in two large urban districts to evaluate initial effects of the…

Most school-based drug abuse prevention programs comprise five categories, stressing knowledge change, attitude change, knowledge and attitude change, peer relationships, or drug use alternatives. Peer programs seem most effective. Programs often fail because of unrealistic expectations, wasted energy, program weakness, lack of creativity, failure…

Describes Operation Snowball, an extensively used prevention model that emerged in response to drug abuse problems in school and society. Designed to engender positive student attitudes, this program combats alienation and attendant substance abuse through a process emphasizing information, education, alternatives to drugs, and environmental…

By addressing bullying issues, school personnel may prevent more serious violent behavior. This article reviews bullies' and victims' characteristics and describes a school-based intervention plan for managing bullying behavior on the playground and classroom, educating parent/teacher organizations and counselors, and publicizing and implementing…

One California high school's dropout intervention program succeeded because it was organized to meet student, not organizational needs. The program also had highly motivated administrators, outstanding teachers, student and teacher incentives, secure funding, and orientation toward positive self-image. (MLH)

School counselors can design a long-term, comprehensive drug use intervention program by combining elements from their discipline's knowledge base. They may formulate a community-based intervention team, work with the team and school officials to restructure school policy, design specific interventions, collect data on at-risk students, and…

Describes the operation of the Vice Principal's Advisory Council (VPAC) at Montgomery High School, Skillman, New Jersey, which is used to provide a team approach to intervention in student problems. (JW)

Delineates eight recommended steps toward effective teacher remediation, including developing clear performance criteria and commonly understood standards; relying on a clear set of procedures for deficient teachers; making remediation a team effort; varying intervention strategies; supplying adequate resources and supportive policies; and…

According to this literature review, school practices such as placement of at-risk students in alternative, nontraditional programs, individualized counseling, low student-teacher ratio, heavy vocational emphasis, and peer tutoring successfully lower dropout rates, whereas remediation, retention in grade, tracking, and suspension only exacerbate…