Des Moines, Iowa's School within a School is locally funded program of instruction in basic skills, career guidance, and counseling support to meet needs of at-risk seventh- to tenth-grade students attending city's comprehensive middle and high schools. Program evaluations indicate declining dropout rate, increased attendance, and progress toward…

Structured as schools-within-schools, California Partnership Academies are 3-year high school programs beginning in grade 10 and involving the business community. The academies feature courses focused on an occupational theme, coupled with rigorous academic instruction; block scheduling; a selection process identifying promising low-achievers; a…

To counter low test scores, a rising dropout rate, and teacher apathy, a small group of teachers at Hollywood (California) High School developed a career academy, an interdisciplinary school-within-a-school stressing small classes and business speakers. The program recruited interested students and promoted a career theme with good employment…

This study reports the results of 3 years of implementation of a Partnership Academy, a restructuring model for at-risk high school students at J. Sterling Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois. Based on the California model, the partnership academy is distinguished by four features: a multi-year, school-within-a-school structure from 10th…

At the elementary school level, promising new early intervention programs, such as the Reading Recovery Program (RRP), show ways to succeed with students in the primary grades. The RRP targeted the poorest readers in a first grade class, who were given supplemental, one-to-one planned lessons for 30 minutes each day by a specially trained teacher.…

The three papers in this collection provide testimonial descriptions of the power of successfully implemented innovative procedures to advance the academic achievement of students whose life circumstances place them at risk of academic failure. In the first article, "20/20 Analysis: A Citywide Computer-Based Application," David J.…

One of the most enduring challenges facing the public school system is decreasing the dropout rate. The highest rate of growth population in the future will be among the groups who are at greatest risk of dropping out of school. This paper outlines what school officials can do to decrease the dropout rate. The suggestions for dropout prevention…

Since 1991, a formerly rundown Baltimore middle school's reform efforts have been propelled by visionary administrative leadership; a collegial team of empowered teachers; a responsive, teacher-designed curriculum and instructional model; nongraded, schools-within-a school, interdisciplinary team-teaching; and productive school-business…

The Community for Learning program (CFL), also known as the Learning City Program, a school-based intervention program, is described. A major premise of this program is that the national standards of educational outcomes can and must be upheld for all students, including those at risk. At the core of the program's design is over 20 years of…

Project Achieve was designed to improve the attendance and academic performance of at-risk students. In 1993-94, the program was in the first year of its second 3-year cycle, and operated in 34 New York City public high schools. The program has focused on restructuring the standard grouping of grades into "houses," small units that offer…

A study investigated how motivational, curricular, and instructional needs of at-risk students were accommodated by an alternative school program located and organized within a conventional high school in northern Louisiana. Data were gathered through documents; classroom observations; and interviews with students, teachers, and the administrator…

In 1993, New York City tried a different way of changing failing schools. A large failing high school was closed, and in its place were created four small high schools, a small elementary school, an infant and toddler program, a day care center for children of adolescent parents, and a medical clinic. Over a period of 3 or 4 years the building was…

Educators in intentionally small schools in Chicago are working to create a climate that is inviting, engaging, and challenging to some of the most academically disadvantaged students. Over a period of 18 months, data were collected from eight intentionally small schools that included elementary, middle, and high schools; freestanding schools;…

Teachers at the Ganado Primary School in rural Arizona established an instructional team to form a "School-within-a-School" (SWAS). The school is located on the Navajo reservation and serves 450 K-2 students who are predominately "at risk" and limited-English-proficient. Over a period of 8 months, the faculty researched and…

The School Within-a-School Program (SWAS) of the Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools was established as an intervention/reform program, which became part of the court-ordered desegregation program, for at-risk students in grades 7 and 9. In the last year of evaluation, the group consisted of 678 students. This summative longitudinal evaluation…