Describes experiences of teachers, administrators, and students in a freshman academy in a medium-sized midwestern city high school designed to help ninth-graders, many with at-risk behaviors, to make smooth transitions from middle school to high school. (PKP)

Over the last decade, between 347,000 and 544,000 10th- through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school program Status dropout rates represent the proportion of young people ages 16 through 24 who are out of school and who have not earned a high school credential. Status rates are higher than event…

The high school dropout problem is a crisis for the United States, in part because it impacts not only individuals and their education, but also because the economic and social costs are so dramatic. This fact sheet highlights the problem of dropout prevention facing America's high schools today. It provides information on the students most likely…

This article discusses a program at John Adams High School in New York City that helps students who have fallen behind acquire the credits they need to graduate, while still enabling them to hold a job and meet family obligations. The program is one of 20 Young Adult Borough Centers operated by the New York City Department of Education in…

A pilot vocational exploration program in the Pocono Mountain School District (Pennsylvania) was conducted for students who were at risk of dropping out of school after failing eighth grade. The program, conducted as a ninth-grade class, allowed at-risk students to receive concentrated, personalized help in basic academic skills while exploring…

Student retention continues to be an important concern among college and university officials; many programs have been implemented at postsecondary institutions to improve student retention, especially that of minority students. This paper examines the theory and practice of program evaluation in retention-focused programs. Program evaluations…

The Target 2000 legislation enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1989 mandates halving the state's dropout rate by the year 2000. The statute requires that the State Board of Education, assisted by a select committee, devise and pilot-test dropout prevention programs during school years 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. In September…

A study of a cohort in the school district of Saginaw, Michigan was begun in Fall 1986. The primary aim of the study was to follow the students from the time they entered high school until they left, either by graduation, transferal, or termination. The specific cohort in the study was the 1986-87 sophomore class scheduled to be the graduating…

This report presents an overview of previous research on teenage mothers and education. The report provides practical advice on how educators can work with youth-service workers and community activists to reduce the institutional barriers that keep pregnant and parenting teenagers from remaining in or returning to a diploma-granting educational…

This document provides an overview of the concept of mentoring, this time applied to the area of dropout prevention. It begins by describing the functions and characteristics of a mentor, considering the use of mentors with at-risk youth, and examining the roles of a mentor in dropout prevention. Suggestions are given for setting up a mentoring…

Dramatic increases in the dropout rate, particularly among classified behavior disordered children, coupled with a decline in an Occupational Education enrollment project led to the creation of a "failure identity" for individuals and a loss of human resources to the national work force. The need to address this problem was the stimulus for…

In light of the theory that student absenteeism and lack of motivation are intertwined, educators have begun to investigate the theories of motivation in order to apply them to creative attendance policies in an attempt to reduce the problem of student absenteeism. Motivational theories indicate common elements of the importance of the intrinsic…

The use of computer conferencing (CC) to support undergraduate distance learners will, presumably, lower attrition rates for distance learners by providing students with the ability to exchange ideas and develop insights with others, overcoming the intellectual and social isolation associated with correspondence courses. It will be years before…

This document provides information on a Full-Time Vocational Training Program (FTVTP), which is intended to keep students in school or allow dropouts to reenter in a vocational setting. The philosophy and purpose of the FTVTP are presented. The program's purpose is to enable dropouts to return to school in a full-day vocational program, be…

This document presents the executive summary of a research project undertaken to provide a national overview of the dimensions of the dropout problem, focusing specifically on gender differences; and to identify strategies that are being used to address the dropout problem, assess effectiveness of these strategies, and suggest ways that these…