This paper addresses educational reform as it affects dropouts, minorities, diverse cultures, training programs, and community-based education. Effective dropout-prevention models are presented that address the needs of at-risk populations. The author states that much dropout prevention and reclamation takes place off of school district campuses…

This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…

For some youth, schools provide more structure and stability than any other source. Project Pioneer, a pilot project at a Wichita (Kansas) high school, helps create a support base for high risk youths entering high school. Success depends on extensive staff training and close counseling for potential dropouts. (MLH)

Presented in this annotated bibliography of 12 publications on students at risk are descriptions of (1) a study of 100 Austin, Texas, dropouts that identifies characteristics and conditions of high-risk students; (2) a study recommending a variety of programs to improve the progression of high-risk high school and college students; (3) a manual…

Over the last decade, between 347,000 and 544,000 10th- through 12th-grade students left school each year without successfully completing a high school program Status dropout rates represent the proportion of young people ages 16 through 24 who are out of school and who have not earned a high school credential. Status rates are higher than event…

This paper examines available information on early identification of students at risk of prematurely dropping out of school. Many factors such as drug use, lowered educational achievement, delinquency, and unemployment appear to be consequences of dropping out, yet cause and effect is often difficult to define. A variety of school related,…

In light of the fact that students at risk of dropping out of school have become the focus of national attention, this paper examines one alternative program designed to work with a population considered to be at very high risk for dropping out. The population served by the School-Community Guidance Center (SCGC) in the Austin (Texas) Independent…

Nine distinct programs aimed at reducing the dropout rate and bringing "at-risk" students back into the educational mainstream are described in this publication. The document first notes the social and economic costs to the nation of students dropping out before completing high school. The report then describes changes in Wisconsin's attendance…

Across Canada almost 40 percent of youth drop out and do not finish high school. Young people feel they can drop out of school and find a job tomorrow that will pay them enough so they can continue the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. However, unemployment rates for individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are high. There are people who…

At-risk students are often poor and members of minority groups. Solutions to the dropout problem are inseparably tied to combating poverty and could stimulate far-reaching educational change. Researchers have identified several elements of successful dropout prevention programs, including the need for early prevention; aggressive leadership;…

The Target 2000 legislation enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1989 mandates halving the state's dropout rate by the year 2000. The statute requires that the State Board of Education, assisted by a select committee, devise and pilot-test dropout prevention programs during school years 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. In September…

This report describes three model programs in dropout prevention that were developed for three school systems, Granville, Haywood, and Wake Counties, in the State of North Carolina. The three model programs have several general characteristics in common: planning; comprehensiveness; collaboration; commitment of a wide range of people; and dropout…

Involving parents in a team approach by providing parent education and assistance programs can only strengthen dropout prevention strategies that are being developed and implemented throughout the nation. (JOW)

Longitudinally examined the effects of two linked at-risk programs (a middle school dropout prevention program and a high school transition program), focusing on attendance, promotion/retention, courses passed, discipline referrals, suspensions, sequence of services, the effects of passage of time following the intervention, and dropping out.…

The analysis of proposed or implemented programs for increasing the achievement of at-risk students in all grades is the purpose of this report. Its focus is on identifying effective organizational responses, programs, and practices that improve the achievement of all at-risk children. Schools currently respond to poor academic performance with…