Whether the transition to primary school is smooth or abrupt for children depends on whether early childhood and elementary school programs work together to build bridges between their services. This report presents several examples of collaborative efforts to smooth the transition to school. Specifically, it describes how various elements of five…

The RE-FOCUS Program at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Missouri, helps at-risk students to redefine their efforts in social behavior and academic success. When inappropriate behavior occurs and the classroom teacher needs assistance, the student is taken out of his/her regular school environment and assigned in the RE-FOCUS room. The program,…

Components of a student retention program at Eastern Michigan University are examined; for each effort to improve retention, project objectives and design, results, and recommendations are presented. Retention initiatives, decided upon as a result of a campus-wide mobilization of effort, include: a student-focused orientation system, a fast track…

Brick Township (New Jersey) High School hosts special education programs for both high-school-aged and 4-year-old students. Two classes are offered for the trainable mentally retarded, one for the educable mentally retarded, two for the neurologically impaired, and two for the emotionally disturbed and socially maladjusted. A departmentalized,…

Preparation for American Secondary Schools (PASS) programs designed to prepare 13- to 16-year-old refugees for the transition to American secondary schools have been implemented in the refugee training centers in Thailand and the Philippines. The curriculum emphasizes language and math skills and cultural orientation. Students also develop…

Social isolation and loneliness, cultural shock, and lack of commitment to minority students have been suggested as barriers to educational attainment for many minority college students. Blacks are severely underrepresented in the sciences and in mathematics, and these issues and concerns are not uncommon to black students enrolled in the School…

The subcultures of school and experiential learning sites and perspectives from cultural anthropology are discussed, along with a program in applied humanities and Chicano studies. In "The Internship Process: A Cultural Model," Sharon Rubin considers the process of moving from the college student subculture to that of the internship…

Proceedings of a 1980 conference in Australia on the problems of first-year students, which focus on student discontinuation, are presented. The contents include three papers, discussion group reports, and a report on the outcome of the discussion groups, policy proposals, and recommendations. In "First Year Students: Selection and…

This paper addresses two important aspects involved in orienting an ex-offender to college. The first aspect is the selection of students for admission; the second is the structuring of individual counseling and class orientation to examine important psychological and social changes that the student must make to be successful in college and…

Based on the view that schools are responsible for providing a safe and supportive setting for all students and that with education the school climate will improve for sexual-minority parents and their children, this booklet provides information on how schools can become more welcoming to all students. Following introductory comments, the book is…

Three categories of programs for reentry women students are distinguished, those that: deal with biological and psychological subjects, address the changing role of women in society, and have traditionally been for men but are now attractive to women. The Women's Opportunities Network at the University of Georgia is highlighted. (MSE)

Discusses how adult general education liberal arts requirements do not help adult students and how they may actually discourage students. Discusses alternative courses instituted by the University without Walls (UWW) program that provide lifelong learning activities incorporating liberal arts skills and knowledge with experiential learning. (JS)

A program was designed to prevent school adjustment problems in primary school children by identifying at-risk children using a behavior rating scale and training them in coping and self-expression skills. A study of the program's effectiveness with 26 children found no significant differences between experimental and control groups on behavioral,…

A Queensland University (Australia) action research project to help foreign students develop skills in the language of mathematics and adjust to the university environment is described. Student, teacher, and observer diary entries indicate students became aware of their language and cultural adjustment needs and made some progress in this…

A six-week summer transition program for students with disabilities entering the University of Arkansas includes academic advising and personal counseling, enrollment in six hours of college credit, and participation in a range of social and recreational activities. Participants rated the program as good college preparation. (MSE)