In Illinois school districts, a service-learning mentoring program is being used to increase student retention and achievement by providing student-led social support for high school freshmen, as well as opportunities for student development, civic engagement and academic success. The National Dropout Prevention center/Network (NDPC/N) recommends…

The Lewiston School System has increased staffing to handle the language acquisition needs of its burgeoning number of English language learners, but the Lewiston High School community looked outside the school system for help in dealing with the sociocultural issues that inevitably arise when different cultures come together. The school turned to…

This book invites schools to consider the use of mentorship, peer support, and student leadership programs to positively support the growth and learning of all students. It presents research on successful K-12 programs and case studies of individual programs and people. Eighteen chapters are: (1) "Introduction and Overview"; (2)…

The Princeton Peer Leadership Program, which evolved from Sharon Rose Powells' doctoral research in the 1970s, trains seniors to serve as mentors to high school freshmen. The program involves the freshmen in school life and with students outside their social cliques, breaks down social and cultural barriers, and exposes the universality of many…