Describes the Meaningful Other Person (MOP) program instituted at a North Carolina ninth grade center that reduced the dropout rate by 50 percent. (FL)

A high school in Oregon has had positive results from the development of a dropout prevention program. Students meet together each day, develop goals, and earn credits for successful efforts. Program design and implementation are described. (DF)

Findings from a literature review on dropout prevention were integrated with suggestions from Oregon educators. Ideas included examples of universal interventions (such as student advisory programs), dropout interventions for at-risk students (such as community-based learning), and interventions for individual students (wraparound interventions).…

Schools are experimenting with community service programs. Among these are service-based intervention programs for at-risk children and K-12 curricula of community service. Cites examples, the characteristics of effective programs, and proposed federal legislation. (MLF)

A South Carolina school district is working with researchers at Johns Hopkins University on a long-term intervention plan to boost the district on-time graduation rate to 80 percent by the year 2001. Increasing students' chances of staying at grade level reduces the chances they will drop out. (MLF)

Focuses on what can be done in intermediate or middle school to identify potential dropouts and conduct effective counselor groups and mentoring programs to keep these high-risk students in school. Describes program designed to provide potential dropouts with support system that helps them develop positive attitudes about themselves, resulting in…

Butler County (Pennsylvania) Vo-Tech motivates better attendance and achievement through an incentive program with tangible rewards such as the Win-a-Car contest. A two-day self-esteem program involves action-oriented experiential learning activities designed to develop leadership, teamwork, self-esteem, and problem-solving skills. (SK)

Minnie Howard School, just outside Washington, D.C., caters exclusively to 14-year olds. Started seven years ago to relieve enrollment pressures, the school protects its 747 9th graders from typical high-school pressures and has reduced suspension and truancy, enrolled more kids in honors classes, and enticed privately educated students back to…

Describes experiences of teachers, administrators, and students in a freshman academy in a medium-sized midwestern city high school designed to help ninth-graders, many with at-risk behaviors, to make smooth transitions from middle school to high school. (PKP)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "A Tipping Point in Education": Report Finds Educational Attainment of Younger Generations Has Not Increased; (2) Building a…

Low achievement and high dropout rates among poor and minority students continue to plague U.S. society. While much attention over the past quarter century has focused on reforming the schools these students attend, little or no progress has been made in actually closing the achievement gaps or reducing the number of dropouts. Why? Aren't…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) creates a unique opportunity for states, districts, and high schools to work in concert on behalf of high school students. The table presented in this document provides information on best practices and resources related to the primary funding streams under the 2009 American Recovery and…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Student retention continues to be an important concern among college and university officials; many programs have been implemented at postsecondary institutions to improve student retention, especially that of minority students. This paper examines the theory and practice of program evaluation in retention-focused programs. Program evaluations…

The Target 2000 legislation enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1989 mandates halving the state's dropout rate by the year 2000. The statute requires that the State Board of Education, assisted by a select committee, devise and pilot-test dropout prevention programs during school years 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. In September…