This publication presents a portrait of transitions from initial education to working life in the United States. Section I details the distribution of students at two basic levels: K-12 and tertiary education. It introduces a recurring concern--the distribution of students by ethnicity and socioeconomic status--and details the declining importance…

This monograph focuses on the first year of college and the need for structured first-year programs that help at-risk students make a successful transition to college. It provides a detailed discussion of the elements of a structured first-year program, including: (1) participation in the admissions process for at-risk students; (2)…

GRADS (Graduation, Reality, and Dual-Role Skills) is an in-school instructional and intervention program for pregnant teens and young parents. Its objectives are to help these students remain in school through graduation, have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, learn practical parenting and child-development skills, gain an orientation to…

"A Vision for the Future" is a comprehensive long-range plan to study, develop, implement, and evaluate an ambitious dropout reduction program in the Charleston (South Carolina) School District. The program entails: (1) improved data reporting on student performance, grade retention, and attrition to identify dropout indicators and risk…

This paper describes a multi-faceted approach to improving student retention at an urban public university. It is noted that the students at this institution are older, working people; few live on campus and participate in what would be considered traditional student experiences. The paper examines the physical setting and external environment;…

A study examined a unique workplace literacy program designed for college preparation. Factors related to retention were studied in a group of paraprofessional health care workers who were attending the program as a step toward career advancement. The 153 participants were mainly women of minority backgrounds who spoke English fluently but not…

This publication provides examples of diverse local initiatives that represent approaches to serving young people, particularly disadvantaged African Americans and Latinos. This report includes a forward emphasizing the background and current need for the types of programs highlighted, and an introduction that argues for the effectiveness of…

This booklet, the third and last in a series of monographs on solutions to the problem of school dropouts, is designed to provide guidance for local organizations to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out. It sets forth the goals and objectives of a planning approach that illustrates how local communities could organize to increase…

This ERIC digest examines the growth and nature of juvenile gangs and the growing problem they present in the nation's public schools. It explores the characteristics of gangs, the impact gangs are having on public schools, why gangs develop and why students join them, what the schools' responses have been to gangs, and effective interactions for…

This paper describes an effort to find ways to respond to the challenges of supporting student and faculty diversity by providing data about the experiences of Latino undergraduates at the University of Michigan. Data were collected from a random sample of 73 Latino undergraduates and a comparison group of 24 non-Latinos. The Latino group…

This report provides information on 12 indicators of child and adolescent health, education, and economic status in West Virginia at the state and county level. It includes a state profile, a minority profile, and 55 county profiles. Each of the indicators is discussed on a state-wide basis. The bulk of the report consists of one-page county…

A study investigated the impact of a school-based family literacy program located in an urban, working-class Ontario, Canada neighborhood on parents enrolled with their toddlers. Subjects, 15 white female parents between the ages of 17.6 and 33 years who had not completed secondary education, were interviewed, wrote journals, and participated in…

The 1990 census shows about 5 million children living in the 13 states comprising Appalachia. Ninety percent of Appalachian children are white and nine percent are black, with the majority of black children living in the southern subregion. Children represent a quarter of the region's residents, but their numbers have declined by 11 percent since…

This paper synthesizes a study designed to identify the factors that contribute to primary school repetition and dropout in Honduras. Data were collected by record reviews; teacher, student, and parent interviews; and a test of Spanish. The sample included 1,253 students in grades 1 and 3 in 40 schools in rural Honduras. The main findings of the…

This report examines the wealth of Pennsylvania school districts, the effort districts exert to support education, school expenditures, and the effects of district wealth on students. Important findings related to disparities in wealth and spending on education include: (1) the polarization of wealth distribution during the 1980s made over 90% of…