Examines New York State's initiative to address high school dropout rates, finding that few of the 12 pilot sites had explicit links to adult education. Suggests that adult basic education can be a driving force in a community to educate, assemble, organize, and facilitate discourse to support dropout prevention strategies. Urges adult educators…

School-based harassment and violence toward students perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender has been successfully confronted in educational systems across the U.S. A sampling of these programs and linked supportive organizations is presented. Three harassment-reduction programs are described in detail. Program-development and…

Studies indicate that substance abuse is a growing problem among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Prevention and intervention efforts can be successful in working with sexual minority adolescents in jeopardy of developing substance abuse problems. School psychologists are uniquely poised to address this problem through…

Considers research agendas for moving the school psychology profession forward by yielding unique contributions in the millennium, while enabling school psychologists to enhance outcomes for children and families with greater precision and effectiveness. Specifically examines some research agendas in the areas of diagnosis and assessment,…

Studied "science-based" and "research-based" as criteria for the evaluation of exemplary programs under the Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Program through an examination of the evaluations of two such programs. Findings suggest that the "exemplary" criteria were either poorly defined or not well…

Findings from a literature review on dropout prevention were integrated with suggestions from Oregon educators. Ideas included examples of universal interventions (such as student advisory programs), dropout interventions for at-risk students (such as community-based learning), and interventions for individual students (wraparound interventions).…

This special issue of the Canadian Journal of Counseling focuses on one of society's greatest challenges: youth violence. This article provides counselors with a general overview of the major advances in understanding the etiology of youth violence, the highlights of promising counseling interventions, and the role of gender in addressing…

This article explores three controversial issues in the deaf community: genetic engineering, cochlear implants, and high stakes testing for students. It is argued that while some argue high stakes testing raises the expectations for students with deafness, it may leave many students with deafness without high school diplomas. (Contains…

Career academies in Philadelphia have evolved over the past 30 years. A comprehensive review of their effectiveness found that students have better attendance and grades, higher self-esteem and satisfaction with school, and lower dropout rates. (JOW)

Evaluates the effectiveness of a brief program to prevent physical, psychological, and sexual aggression in dating relationships. The program consisted of an educational video followed by a discussion led by either a female presenter or male/female co-presenters. Participants endorsed more prosocial attitudes about dating aggression immediately…

Discusses how vulnerable lockers are to vandalism and thieves, offering examples from various athletic facilities of both forcible and "light-fingered" theft. (EV)

School-based drug abuse prevention studies suffer from intragroup dependence when intact social groups are assigned to study conditions. Data analysis from two studies revealed intraclass correlation coefficients between 0.02 and 0.05 for common drug use measures. Suggests researchers adopt alternative methods that acknowledge dependence. Reviews…

A model for organizing crisis intervention efforts outlines three levels of intervention: primary prevention, secondary intervention, and tertiary prevention. Emphasizes the importance of conducting crisis drills, which are an example of secondary intervention. Includes a 15-point crisis intervention checklist. (MLF)

Recognition of radio and television antismoking messages was measured in 6 treatment and 4 control cities. A survey of 574 adolescents found high recognition of messages even in areas where they were not broadcast, reinforcing the need for true control groups and distinctive messages to ensure validity in mass media evaluation. (SK)

Argues that dropout prevention programs which promote reading success while keeping students on grade level must begin early and be staffed by teachers who believe they can make a difference and who foster positive self-concepts in their students. (MG)