In the third year of its finish-up program, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) used its area development appropriation of $44 million to target three broad areas: (1) creating and retaining jobs in the region; (2) providing basic public facilities in the worst-off Appalachian counties; and (3) improving health care throughout the region.…

This study focuses on school system characteristics that affect the dropout rate in the Chicago public high schools. Although the primary variable for investigation is attendance rate, other school system variables examined include type of school, percentage of low-income students in a school, and the overall level of student ability for a school…

The Urban Education Network is comprised of the largest school districts in 14 states. In December 1985 the Network hosted a conference for its members on efforts to improve teaching and learning in urban schools. The following papers presented at the conference are included: (1) "Thinking about the Undoable: Dropout Programs" (Dale…

The 1980-1981 project sought to extend the dropout prediction methods used previously by using a broader sample and to examine the effectiveness of counseling in dropout prevention. Over 1,200 migrant students in 35 Texas Coastal Bend school districts completed a survey regarding school attitudes, family problems, school participation, financial…

The major goal of Project SPEED (at Fort Hamilton High School, Brooklyn, New York) was dropout prevention. In its first year of operation, 1982-83, the project provided English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, bilingual instruction in basic skills required for graduation, and guidance services to approximately 300 limited English proficient…

This study explores patterns of behaviors and attitudes, as well as the academic, demographic, social, and economic circumstances of students who have dropped out of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). It also examines other factors that influence dropout attitudes, aspirations, and needs after leaving school. Factors affecting…

In an effort to determine how student support services are meeting the needs of underprepared and part-time students, and assisting in efforts to increase program completion rates, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges conducted telephone interviews with support service personnel in six large urban community college districts (i.e., in…

The El Paso Independent School District, in an effort to reduce the dropout rate and promote academic success among Hispanics, developed a high-intensity language training (HILT) curriculum in English as a second language (ESL) for limited-English-speaking students, to prepare them for full participation in regular subject-area courses. The…

This is a group of reports evaluating the 1983-84 results of twelve programs funded by the Disadvantaged Pupil Program Fund in the Cleveland Public Schools. The programs evaluated are (1) the Classroom Support Program; (2) the Cultural Enrichment Experiences Project; (3) the Internal Suspension Room Program, for dropout prevention; (4) the…

Special Services for the Disadvantaged Students (SSDS) is a federally funded three-year college retention program initiated at a Texas community college. The program's objectives include improving reading and math levels, improving achievement of handicapped students, and increasing skills in English as a second language. To accomplish these…

The conference summarized here brought together participants from 12 public school districts and 34 observers from government agencies, foundations and community organizations. The attendees addressed the concern that the reform agenda of American public schooling is insufficiently sensitive to needy children who have dropped out of school or who…

The Three-Tier Vocational Education Program serves economically disadvantaged and handicapped high school students in Duplin County, North Carolina. It is designed to assist these students in developing job-seeking, job-getting, and job-keeping skills in a partnership with high schools, James Sprunt Technical College, and the employing community.…

In an effort to reduce the class attrition rate of 40% at Jefferson Community College (JCC), and to investigate the entire process of recruitment, retention, and attrition (RRA), a series of four faculty workshops were held. The plan was to look at the RRA process from the student's point of view in terms of four phases: (1) the pre-enrollment…

In response to declines in enrollment and average daily attendance since 1975, Ohlone College conducted a study of student attrition which involved: (1) a telephone survey of the 2,593 students who enrolled in Fall 1979 and dropped out or withdrew from classes before the end of the quarter; (2) a mailed survey of the 15 members of the California…

The Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects were set up to aid disadvantaged youths, ages 16 to 19, guaranteeing them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary school or enroll in an equivalency education program. It was started in January,…