This study examines the impact of school structures on potential dropouts. Data from field notes, interviews, and school records are used to describe and discuss the effectiveness of interventions generated by a school committee which worked to prevent at-risk students from dropping out of high school. (IAH)

Dallas school district attempted to determine whereabouts of students who did not return to school in fall. Found a large portion of "no-show" students matriculating elsewhere. Previously, these students would have been classified as dropouts and used to determine the dropout rate. The new accounting procedure reduced the annual dropout rate from…

To address the retained-student dropout rate and increase parent involvement, a Fort Lauderdale (Florida) middle school principal devised a program to help overage seventh graders catch up with their peers in one year and help parents achieve their own education goals. The Rogers' Achievement Program stresses basic skills, student-designed…

An alternative dropout-prevention program is examined from the students' perspectives. Findings from interviews and observations suggest that the program is effective in keeping the students in school but does little to help the students develop daily living and social skills. Policy implications are discussed and suggestions for future research…

This guide suggests that truancy is not just a school problem but a community problem, and the whole community needs to come together to devise solutions. This monthly action kit provides tools to help communities combat truancy. It contains: (1) important facts about truancy; (2) some ideas on how to assess the local problem; (3) actions that can…

This paper describes the implementation of an innovative integrated approach to the delivery of services for disadvantaged youth in Massachusetts, and examines the fiscal, political, and organizational factors that led to its subsequent demise. Massachusetts was one of the first states to envision and implement a statewide system of coordinated…

The word "miftan" means "threshold" in Hebrew. The Miftan as an educational framework was conceived in Israel as a response to the needs of marginal male youth who are about to drop out or who have dropped out of the regular school system. Currently 42 Miftanim are operating in that country. This report presents ethnographic…

This report summarizes the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations of an analysis of 1985-86 outcomes of New York City's state-funded Attendance Improvement-Prevention (AI/DP) program and the city-funded Dropout Prevention Program. The central goal of the evaluation was to understand conditions which encouraged success in middle school…

This document, the first part of a two-part evaluation of the third-year implementation of New York City's 3-year Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI), is the final evaluation report of implementation of the DPI middle school component, called the Dropout Prevention Program (DPP), conducted in 29 schools. Case-management services and some…

Understanding why students drop out is important in developing effective dropout prevention strategies. Traditional research has focused on high school dropouts; recent interest uses a developmental approach and examines possibilities for earlier intervention. Each section of this report analyzes dropout prevention at the preschool, elementary,…

This paper describes the first six months of activities and accomplishments of Commonwealth Futures, an initiative designed to provide services to at-risk youth in Massachusetts schools. Major activities are outlined chronologically, implementation problems and successes are briefly discussed, and projected future activities are listed. These…

Dropouts are defined throughout this document (including in its graphic displays) as: early school leavers, expelled, intermittent learners, leftouts, pushouts, stopouts, suspended, and truants. Sufficient research has been done about school dropouts to begin a comprehensive solution. Schools and other institutions must mobilize the knowledge to…

The 1984-85 age-grade distribution for the New York City Public Schools shows that one-third of the city's approximately 850,000 general education and resource room students were above the standard age for their grade. The proportion of overage students increased in the upper grades; in grades nine, ten, and eleven, over half were above standard…

This study aimed to describe the following: (1) how many dropouts attempt to change the course of their lives by returning to complete their diploma requirements; (2) what kinds of dropouts return; and (3) how the subsequent activities of this group differ from those of dropouts who remained out of school. Those groups shown by previous research…

This booklet addresses the issue of high school dropouts. The dropout problem is briefly reviewed and dropout statistics are presented. A section on identifying the dropout lists early warning signs of potential dropouts and examines reasons for dropping out. Seven profiles of dropouts are included which provide personal insights, describe…