The Salem-Steelville-Potosi Consortium, located in rural, southeastern Missouri, began its involvement with Contract Vocational Education (CVE) in 1979 and after 15 semesters, 234 contracts had been negotiated with 193 students and over 100 businesses. A prior dropout study had shown the schools that most of their dropouts had limited career aspirations and needed vocational awareness and training. Faced with the usual major impediments to expanding vocational programs in smaller rural schools, the consortium turned to CVE, a program in which local businesspersons contract with schools and families to provide students with specific occupational training at business sites. The training is based on predetermined, competency-based, and individualized performance criteria. Community Occupational and Training Counselors provide low aspiration juniors with competency-based career counseling so that they are eligible for CVE training placement during their senior year. A recent follow-up study showed that of 239 graduated participants, only 18 were unemployed (a rate roughly one-sixth that of their age peers who had not participated in CVE). Following the history of CVE and how it operates, unique aspects and advantages of CVE are listed. The benefits of community-school interaction and consortium arrangements are discussed. Guidelines are provided on adopting the CVE concept. Twelve appendixes contain examples of contract, agreement, survey, and assessment forms. (BRR)