The purpose of the Sylacauga, Alabama, exemplary program, reported for the period from July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973, was to demonstrate practices found effective for working with socioeconomically disadvantaged and other dropout-prone students. Program objectives were to provide: (1) student counseling services to help appraise interests, aptitudes, and skills in relation to occupational preferences; and (2) a sheltered work experience vocational curriculum with vocational counseling services to assist students in developing entry level skills for commensurate occupations. Inservice training was conducted and programs developed in five areas: grounds keeping and landscaping, janitorial and custodial, domestic, food service, and maintenance service for building and equipment. The programs centered around work experiences at work stations provided by the school system. Combined with the vocational instruction was a compensatory program in basic communication skills, reading, and mathematics as needed for the jobs. More than half of the students also held part-time jobs, some of them in their areas of study, and earnings from the jobs contributed to students' improved attitudes. Appended materials comprise over half of the document and include: newspaper articles, participant responses, supervisor's checklist, list of project developed materials, resource bibliography, attitude tests, and project budget. (MF)