To assist low-income rural schools with school improvement and dropout prevention, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) has undertaken a multi-year project at five demonstration sites. This paper shares observations and lessons learned from the experiences of the five school districts involved in SEDL's partnership strategy. The…

This book presents policy recommendations for ensuring the success of American citizens in the areas of welfare prevention, school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, adult literacy, and alcohol and drug abuse. Welfare prevention strategies involve reduction of welfare dependency and targeting of resources and programs that reduce the need for families…

The Canadian government is meeting the rising demand for highly skilled workers with a $296.4 million national dropout prevention initiative over five years. This document, written in both English and French, describes the initiative. More than half of the funds will be allocated to programs and services, more than a quarter to mobilizing…

Graduation, Reality, and Dual-Role Skills (GRADS) is a vocational home economics program in Ohio for pregnant students and young parents in grades 7 through 12 in junior high schools, senior high schools, and vocational schools. Goals of the program are to: (1) increase the likelihood the participants will remain in school during pregnancy, after…

Educating disadvantaged students will demand a national commitment to increasing the resources devoted to the task, restructuring the schools in which the disadvantaged are educated, and conducting research needed to make those schools more effective. Educationally disadvantaged students have been exposed to insufficient educational experiences in…

Effective systems of integrated, sequential, and systematic programming strategies at the state and local level are required to meet the needs of at-risk youth. The following six papers included in this compilation describe effective programs and practices that can be implemented in the local community, at the school district level, and in the…

City-as-School (CAS) is a New York City Board of Education independent alternative high school whose primary curriculum objective is to link students with hundreds of learning experiences throughout the community. Students receive academic credit for each learning experience successfully completed. Credit is determined by the nature of the…

The Regional Review Meeting on the Situation of Education of Girls was attended by participants from eight Asian countries, six of which have low female participation and retention rates. Participants from Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand presented reports based on the findings of national studies,…

This document outlines the Milwaukee Public Schools' proposed plan of service for children at risk. The report's organization follows the format of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction compliance form, which is included. Procedures are described for identifying children in grades 8-12 who have dropped out of school, who have been absent…

The 2+2 Project in Colorado focused on nine areas. In each of the areas, the emphasis was to identify and to pilot the most promising alternative or alternatives to recommend to local school boards, the State Board of Education, and, when appropriate, the state legislature. Topics addressed were: (1) student assessment options; (2) assessment…

Inappropriate grade placement of a migrant child frequently prevents the child from graduating. Statistics show that very few migrants graduate at age 20, and almost none have graduated at an age older than 20. Therefore, students who are placed two or more years below their grade level are virtually doomed to drop out of school. Project Upgrade…

Based on a state board of education program to individualize graduation requirements, called the Program Completion Alternative, this guide discusses how and why New Jersey school districts ought to develop a variety of ways for students to meet state and local requirements; outlines the alternative education programs made possible by the new…

Twenty college students from American Indian, Chicano, Anglo and Black ethnic backgrounds were recruited to work in the Cross-Age Peer Relationship Project. They became involved in a program of educational remediation and facilitation for junior high age youth from similar backgrounds. Each counselor trainee was assigned a junior high school in…

Discusses successful strategies for preventing Black students from leaving school before graduation. Argues that the best solution to this complex problem is to ensure that Black children learn the necessary academic and cognitive skills in school before proceeding to the next grade level. (FMW)

The development and findings of a student questionnaire (MOSS) concerning college climate and dropouts is presented. Survey results identify nine academic program aspects that seemed to discriminate between students planning to remain until degree completion and those planning to drop out. The questionnaire is appended. (MSE)