Literature from the past three decades does not suggest a specific role for school counselors in combating the school dropout problem. A search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database for the years 1984-1986 produced only 15 items indexed under terms related to school counseling or the school counselor's role. Ideally a database would specify "what works," but the literature reflects approaches and strategies used in particular school situations which are not necessarily adoptable by other schools. However, certain school activities, practices, and emphases have been positively associated with improvement in school retention and reduction in school dropouts. These strategies and the counselor's role in them include: (1) promotion of daily school attendance; (2) encouragement of parental participation in school learning activities; (3) strong and consistent school leadership; (4) clearly stated and widely disseminated classroom and school goals; (5) help for each student to establish and progress toward personally meaningful career goals; (6) placement of a high priority on school resources for the early elementary grades; (7) insurance that students stay at grade level; (8) interfacing school and community resources; (9) provision of a caring and mentoring environment for all students; (10) assistance for students to develop effective learning and study skills; (11) establishment of a school climate where achievement is respected and rewarded; and (12) recognizing and acting upon the interrelatedness of student self-esteem and successful school performance. This document is structured in two parts: (1) an overview, consisting of 12 pages of text; (2) the results of the computer search, consisting of 178 citations printed on 60 pages (from the DIALOG retrieval system). (ABL)