Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness…

Describes the YouthBuild program in Fayette County, West Virginia, a federally funded program administered locally by the Southern Appalachian Labor School. Participants are unemployed youths aged 16-24, mostly school dropouts, who alternate between 1 week of training in repairing and building houses and 1 week studying for a GED or preparing for…

A California Partnership Academy is a voluntary school-within-a-school program for at-risk high school students. The program is based on a partnership between a school district, local employers, and the California Department of Education. The following special features are outlined: (1) close partnership between the school and employers; (2) block…

The Portland School District addresses the dropout problem through programs which fall into the following categories: (1) keeping students engaged in meaningful learning according to their needs, and counseling if necessary, (2) placing students appropriately; (3) monitoring their performance and (4) intervening to prevent and recover dropouts.…

Few researchers have studied the female dropout and too few dropout prevention programs are specifically designed to help girls complete high school. This paper describes programs and state policy initiatives that show promise in helping young women complete their education. They are used by schools and outside organizations to serve and encourage…

Discusses the Young Adult Learning Academy (YALA) in Manhattan, which offers an opportunity for school dropouts to get an equivalent of a high school degree and partake in job preparation programs. Describes the role of technology and the Youth Internship Program which trains students to work in day-care centers. (AEF)

The School to Employment Program (STEP) operated during 1992-93 as an employment-oriented program served economically disadvantaged, out-of-school youth between the ages of 16-21, with special emphasis on 18- and 19-year-olds. Program participants were provided an opportunity to engage in work experience or on-the-job training, to improve academic…

The multiple causes and complex nature of the dropout problem require a variety of program approaches to help both at-risk students and dropouts. Twelve-Together (Detroit, Michigan), Adopt-a-Student (Atlanta, Georgia), and the Summer Youth Employment Program (New Bedford, Massachusetts) are supplemental services providing counseling and job…

This paper describes a program to provide educational and employment services to high school dropouts and unemployed adults in seven rural Tennessee counties. The program offers supplemental services and coordinates job development and placement with Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) administrative personnel. Program activities include basic…

This report summarizes and assesses Project REAL (Return to Employment and Learning), which attempted to attack the high rate of youth crime by focusing on youth offenders who, because they committed repeated serious offenses, were likely to become career criminals. Following a brief introduction, the report describes typical Project REAL clients…

The PASSAGEWAY Project (Program To Assist Secondary Students in Achieving Gainful Employment for West Alabama Youth) sought to increase the academic, social, and job skills of high-risk and dropout special education students. A cooperative program of the University of West Alabama, public schools, businesses, and social service agencies, the…

The Adult Education Services for Teenage Parents program, funded by the Job Training Partnership Act and the State Education and Employment Demonstrations (SEED), was a pilot program designed to provide educational training, job readiness training, and support services for students 16 to 19 years old who had left school. Young parents were to be…

In this report the Ohio Legislative Office of Education Oversight discusses five Ohio programs designed to serve at-risk high school students and examines their possible overlap. The report describes the goals, strategies, and structure of the following programs: (1) Occupational Work Experience (OWE), a 1-year vocational program of classroom…

Ohio's Occupational Work Adjustment (OWA) program is a one- to two-year ungraded vocational program for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds who have been identified as potential dropouts from the regular educational program. Begun on a pilot basis in 1967, OWA served over 80,000 students in 499 programs during the 1981-82 school year. The goal of OWA,…

The Young Adult Learning Academy (YALA) established by the Office of the Mayor of New York City serves dropouts aged 16 to 24 years of age who read below the eighth-grade level. Fourteen independent agencies recruit the students and provide services that include counseling, work maturity training, and job placement. During fiscal year 1990, YALA…