Act 49 of 1987 requires the Secretary of Education to provide the General Assembly with an annual report on public school dropouts in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this report is to document the actual number of students who drop out each year and to provide various characteristics about these students. The type of data collected about each dropout consists of the reason for dropping out, race, gender, age, grade, academic program, post-dropout activity and whether the dropout was classified as any of the following: economically disadvantaged, migrant, English language learner or special education. The term "dropout" as used in this publication refers to a student who, for any reason except death, leaves school before graduation without transferring to another school/institution. This report also details information about students who are enrolled in state-funded dropout prevention programs. Specific characteristics and data about these students and an evaluation of the overall success of these programs are also provided. The focus of this report is school year 2002-03. Specifically, it includes information on all students who dropped out during the 12-month period from October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003. This report also provides details about the Successful Students' Partnership (SSP) and the related Education Mentoring Initiative for the 2002-03 school year. For 2002-03, 500 school districts, 11 comprehensive area vocational-technical schools (AVTSs), 59 charter schools, and four consortium-operated alternative high schools were surveyed for dropouts. Although the dropout rates for the consortium-operated alternative high schools are relatively high, it must be noted that their students are at high risk of dropping out. Once they drop out, their enrollment slots may be refilled throughout the year. However, the dropout rate methodology uses the total number of dropouts over a 12-month period divided by enrollments on a single day, October 1. Because of the turAct 49 of 1987 requires the Secretary of Education to provide the General Assembly with an annual report on public school dropouts in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this report is to document the actual number of students who drop out each year and to provide various characteristics about these students. The type of data collected about each dropout consists of the reason for dropping out, race, gender, age, grade, academic program, post-dropout activity and whether the dropout was classified as any of the following: economically disadvantaged, migrant, English language learner or special education. The term "dropout" as used in this publication refers to a student who, for any reason except death, leaves school before graduation without transferring to another school/institution. This report also details information about students who are enrolled in state-funded dropout prevention programs. Specific characteristics and data about these students and an evaluation of the overall success of these programs are also provided. The focus of this report is school year 2002-03. Specifically, it includes information on all students who dropped out during the 12-month period from October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003. This report also provides details about the Successful Students' Partnership (SSP) and the related Education Mentoring Initiative for the 2002-03 school year. For 2002-03, 500 school districts, 11 comprehensive area vocational-technical schools (AVTSs), 59 charter schools, and four consortium-operated alternative high schools were surveyed for dropouts. Although the dropout rates for the consortium-operated alternative high schools are relatively high, it must be noted that their students are at high risk of dropping out. Once they drop out, their enrollment slots may be refilled throughout the year. However, the dropout rate methodology uses the total number of dropouts over a 12-month period divided by enrollments on a single day, October 1. Because of the tur