Students who left school entirely during the 1984-85 school year, and others who withdrew from regular school and subsequently returned to the district's High School Diploma Program (HSDP), completed questionnaires providing information about their educational values, reasons for leaving school, perceptions of their academic abilities, relationships with school, and peer and support relationships. The returners were also asked their opinions of the HSDP and how the program compared with their previous regular school. The study found that: (1) leavers and returners are less certain of their motivation to learn and their ability to graduate; (2) attendance problems, lack of interest and boredom were the most frequently cited factors in their decision to leave; (3) though the parents' commitment to learning was questionable, academically-related experiences were the dominant factors in students' decisions to leave school; and (4) returners liked the HSDP administrative arrangements and educational characteristics. The authors developed an educational empowerment theory that a student's image of school as a place to be successful determines the student's persistence. The authors recommend changes in the educational philosophy and actions of the school to create a structure and curriculum that addresses everyone's need for success, approval, challenge, and meaning. (PS)