Early, accurate identification of potentially at-risk students is crucial to developing effective dropout prevention programs. Checklists are commonly used by schools and agencies to identify potential dropouts. Unfortunately checklists have several weaknesses, e.g., it is difficult to know how many characteristics must be checked before deciding…

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…

Using the findings of an earlier study regarding differences between student and teacher perceptions of what circumstances might contribute to a student's being "at risk," a follow-up study investigated what teachers and other school personnel can do to help at-risk students. Based on responses to two open-ended questions from the…

This report contains research findings on student achievement and retention at New York City alternative high schools serving dropouts and potential dropouts. After a summary and introduction, statistics are presented which reveal that alternative schools facilitate positive changes in student performance. Next, reasons for students' dropping out…

Although Florida law requires job placement and follow-up services for all students graduating or leaving the school system, there is a lack of understanding about contributing causes and possible solutions to the problem of high school dropouts. To gather information to develop an innovative program to reach dropouts and potential dropouts, 282…

Operation Success is a pilot project funded by the New York State Education Department to provide support services to high school dropouts and potential dropouts. It offers programs, including employment programs, intended to develop skills, self-awareness and self-direction, enourage career goals, and develop appropriate attitudes toward the…

This paper describes a Child Care/Parenting Project established to meet the needs of teen parents and parents-to-be in 19 area schools served by the West Campus Technical Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The presence of a licensed child care facility on the vocational high school campus helped to expand and improve the vocational education…

In the fall of 1985, 10 academy programs were established by the State of California as replications of the Peninsula Academies already operating in a local school district for four years. An academy is a modified high school program with the following specific elements, among others: (1) students with academic potential who are at risk of…

This handbook describes a high school dropout prevention program that integrates academic education, vocational education, and a support system in order to provide students with multiple options for their future careers and personal lives. The following information is provided: the program's philosophy; major components (vocational education,…

The Peninsula Academies is a three-year high school program for at-risk students, designed to provide them with incentives both to graduate and to acquire labor market-relevant skills. An academy combines academic and technical training in a school-within-a-school setting, and is based on school-business partnerships. In the fall of 1985, 10…

This project, conducted under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, Public Law 98-524, developed an inservice training model for secondary guidance staff on implementing vocational assessment techniques into a total guidance and counseling framework. The objective was to design a program for vocationally assessing high school students who…

The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) program was created to prevent at-risk students from low-income families from dropping out of high school. Students aged 14 or 15 years old entering 9th or 10th grade went to a college campus for 60 days during the summer to attend English and mathematics classes, work 20 hours per week, and receive…

This document provides information on the Jones Center Vocational/Academic Program of the Granite School District (Utah), the purpose of which is to maintain or reintegrate students who are potential high school dropouts or dropouts into appropriate educational alternatives. Its mission statement is followed by a list of program components,…

The Businesses as On-Site Schools (BOSS) program was established as a dropout prevention effort combined with employability training for at-risk high school students. The setting was a vocational/educational alternative center in Florida. Businesses were contacted, and verbal intent to provide on-the-job training and an onsite mentor was…

A model program for Limited English Proficient (LEP) students at risk of dropping out was established through the enhancement of existing programs and classes at Corpus Christi Independent School District. The model combined and coordinated components of vocational education, alternatives to social promotion, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)…