In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the northwest corner of South Carolina, high schools' attempts to curb student dropouts may not match what many people picture when they hear talk of the nation's "dropout factories." Yet one-fifth of the 2,000 high schools nationwide categorized that way by researchers at Johns Hopkins…

In August 1999, Allendale County (South Carolina) Schools were taken over by the state. The rural school district, which is remote, poor, and racially segregated, has consistently had the worst test scores in the state, and little was being done to improve the situation. The district's problems and beginning efforts to address them are described.…