Since 1988 five evaluations of Federal demonstration programs in education have been implemented that had random-assignment designs to measure program impacts. The implementation of two of these evaluations, the evaluation of the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program and that of the Alternative Schools Random Assignment Program, are…

This paper describes a study of an alternative, innovative high school designed to serve at-risk students and dropouts returning to public school. The PRIDE (Positive Responsible Individuals Desiring Education) Center, located in San Marcos (Texas) Consolidated Independent School District, opened in September 1989. The center's program includes…

The study examines the relationship between success upon leaving an alternative school program and immediate measures of program effect. The strength of the relationship was used to determine the degree to which the program effected its long term goals of preparing students for future academic or vocational success. Student success was defined as…

The Auxiliary Services for High Schools Program (ASHS) in New York City is a service oriented alternative school concept and optional learning environment established to serve educationally disadvantaged students who have found it difficult to function in the traditional high school setting, and as a result, have become school dropouts. This…

The mid-year evaluation of the Bostrom Alternative Center for Education (BACE) during its third year of operation (1978-79) reviewed student characteristics, student termination, and results of student, parent and staff surveys. Students (N=334) attended Bostrom Center during the first semester. The academic program had the largest student…

Harlem Preparatory School is an independent, nongraded, alternative school for young men and women who have either left high school before receiving a diploma, who wish to receive an academic diploma rather than a general or vocational diploma, or who wish to "recondition" their learning skills so that they may be better prepared to…

The intent of the evaluation studies reported here was two-fold: (1) to determine the promising practices of three alternative schools in Greater Cleveland, and (2) to determine which of those practices identified as promising would be feasible for incorporation into the public schools. Each substudy includes an overview, a description of the…

Describes the Cooperative Alternative Program (CAP), Coleman (Texas), an example of the way a rural high school for at-risk students has established a sense of community while improving the achievement of its rural students. This case study shows how CAP faced its economic and collaborative challenges. (SLD)

The Lower East Side Preparatory School's main goal was to provide basic educational requirements for graduation with improved self-image among students who are dropouts/returnees from the lower east side. Because of the school's location it included the Chinatown area. The student population consisted principally of dropouts with poor academic…

In fall 1993, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) contracted with two community-based organizations to serve eligible AISD dropouts during the 1993-94 school year. The American Institute for Learning and Middle Earth Unlimited, Inc. provided services through the Creative Rapid Learning Center (CRLC) and the 78702 RAYS program,…

Project Achieve, New York City's new dropout prevention program, might benefit from the failures of the city's earlier Dropout Prevention Initiative. Project Achieve will organize all ninth and tenth grade students into houses, integrate support and academic staff, and achieve maximum personnel continuity throughout a student's high school career.…

In 1993-94, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) allocated money to four operations areas for five dropout prevention programs for overage ninth graders. Three of the five area dropout programs had positive effects on the dropout rates of students served. The dropout rates for these programs were lower than the sixth six-weeks…

Kumtuks, established by the Vancouver School Board in 1976, is an alternative educational program for Native Indian adolescents who have the potential to complete Grade 12 but whose recent school histories show poor attendance, deficiencies in basic skills, low motivation, and poor self-concept. The goal of the program is to enable students to…

A study was done of two Minnesota State "second chance" program options designed to help at-risk students to complete high school. The options are: (1) private urban alternative programs, administered by non-sectarian, community-based organizations principally serving teenagers from Minneapolis and St. Paul (Minnesota); and (2) the Area…

Examines collaboration between schools and nonprofit community-based organizations and its impact on dropout prevention programing and staff-student relations. The study is part of a 3-year longitudinal evaluation of the New York City Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention program at 6 of 29 city middle schools implementing the collaboration.…