This report summarizes the findings of three 5-year federally financed dropout prevention programs for high risk students and their families known as the ABC programs: ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success), the Belief Academy, and Check & Connect. The information is based on a comprehensive report called "Staying in…

This article examines causes of the high rate of attrition of college freshmen during the first few weeks of school and describes a plan for mentorships between successful college students and college-bound secondary seniors prior to entrance into college. In discussing the challenges facing freshmen, the article suggests that they suffer stress…

The Career Education Center (CEC) is an alternative high school educational program than began in 1989 to serve the needs of adolescents in New York City who are homeless, educationally disadvantaged, do not fit into a traditional high school setting, or who are awaiting foster care placement. The CEC supports these students, bolsters their…

The program was designed for 13- to 17-year-old at risk adolescents, those individuals who are experiencing difficulties at school, home and/or work. Their main characteristics are a lack of self-control and self-confidence, aggressive behavior, and either little or unrealistic thought about their future. The primary outcomes or aims of the…

This digest describes three programs for middle and high school language minority students at risk of dropping out of school. Two of the programs are geared toward limited-English-proficient Hispanic youth, and the third, a vocational program, involves African-American students as well. The first program described is the Coca-Cola Valued Youth…

This collection of descriptions of research at the Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students opens with the discussion of a synthesis of research on the effects of one-to-one tutoring programs used in first grade to prevent reading failure produced by Barbara Wasik and Robert Slavin. The synthesis reviews stringent…

The Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Alternative Secondary School (PASS) has been developed for at-risk students who need a self-contained educational program with a community educational approach. This model program is based on the need for students to experience individual growth and success in the areas of academics, therapeutics, behavior…

A 1-year research project was undertaken to discover how the arts could help keep at-risk high school students in school. The project was conducted in three phases. In phase 1, recent literature was reviewed to define criteria for the at-risk student and to identify implications for the arts in dropout prevention programs. Phase 2 consisted of…

Leaving school early has a dramatic impact on Hispanic girls, because Latinas face greater barriers than males when seeking high-wage jobs and opportunities in postsecondary education. This Digest examines how gender roles, families, schools, and friends influence Latinas in their education and career decisions, and outlines practical dropout…

The Ninth Grade Restructuring Program of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were…

GRADS (Graduation, Reality, and Dual-Role Skills) is an in-school instructional and intervention program for pregnant teens and young parents. Its objectives are to help these students remain in school through graduation, have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, learn practical parenting and child-development skills, gain an orientation to…

This 1990 survey on American Indian education was conducted among 511 Native American tribal leaders, 227 (44.4%) of whom responded. The study found that 92% of Indian children attend state public schools. Fewer than 10% of Indian children attend Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools or tribally-operated schools. Only 52% of Indian students graduate…

This report summarizes two joint sessions held by the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force and the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to hear testimony on issues in Native American education at the middle school and high school levels. Issues and problems are: (1) factors contributing to high Native dropout rates, including teenage…

Summaries of 73 conference presentations dealing with youth at risk are divided into 6 sections, as was the conference. Section 1 "Understanding Students at Risk," identifies a variety of human services and insights along with suggested procedures for prediction and identification of youth at risk. Section 2, "Preventing and Reducing Incidents of…

This booklet, the third and last in a series of monographs on solutions to the problem of school dropouts, is designed to provide guidance for local organizations to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out. It sets forth the goals and objectives of a planning approach that illustrates how local communities could organize to increase…