This issue of "Network News" focuses on efforts to remedy the dropout problem. The following programs' common goal is not only to retain students through graduation, but to ensure that they acquire the skills necessary to take their place as productive members of society: (1) the Classroom Partners Project, a collaborative effort between…

Community-based early intervention strategies can provide students with skills and attitudes that make dropping out of high school an unnecessary choice. This report analyzes the high school dropout phenomenon in terms of its magnitude, influence on minority populations, and need for local outreach programs. In California, the dropout rate has…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

Student retention and transfer was studied at the University of California (UC) system as one aspect of undergraduate enrollment planning. A task group examined the following questions: (1) What is known about attrition? (2) When do students leave? (3) Who are the high-risk students? (4) Why do students leave? and (5) What is being done about it?…

Through August, 1979, approximately 63,000 low-income youths in 17 areas across the country had been enrolled in Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects that guaranteed them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary school or enroll in an…

The Northern Arizona Hospitality Education Program is an exemplary three-year project designed to help students, mainly Indian, obtain job skills and attitudes necessary for successful employment in the hospitality industry. Nine high schools from Apache, Coconino, and Navajo Counties participated in the project. Objectives included providing an…

The number of high school age students who do not complete high school is receiving increased attention as a serious challenge facing the educational system. This is happening for several reasons. New research estimates that about 30 percent of high school students fail to earn a diploma in the standard number of years, a higher figure than state…

As part of a series exploring effective strategies for school improvement and dropout prevention, this monograph focuses on early childhood education and reading/writing programs, and compiles strategies to help families engage in meaningful literacy activities. The monograph describes and defines family literacy, provides a research basis for…

This brief report describes efforts of the Oklahoma State Regents to accelerate positive academic change in the state's higher education system with a combination of strengthened admission, retention, and assessment standards. The first section presents the state's problem of lagging performance during the late 1980s, as indicated by data showing…

Supportive school settings linking Native culture, history, and language with academic, social, and community programs, and educational experiences that integrate Native life into meaningful academic, social, and personal living skills programs should give Native students greater understanding of their own identity and more success in school and…

The Rhode Island Children's Crusade for Higher Education, funded by state and private sources, is an ambitious, large-scale, long-term effort to prevent dropouts, illegal drug use, and pregnancy among low-income and minority groups. Recruitment of volunteer "mentors" has been highly successful, suggesting strong public support. (MSE)

Ninth grade poses unique academic, physical, social, and emotional challenges to students; in fact, it may be the defining year for predicting high school success. It could also be the last chance to catch pupils who are in danger of dropping out of school. The Freshman Center program attempts to give ninth graders the opportunity to succeed. This…

This final report summarizes activities of a subcommittee of the Committee on Educational Policy of the Board of Trustees of the California State University (CSU) which examined CSU's relationship to the public schools. Introductory material discusses CSU's educational mission and the background of this effort to strengthen the link with…

This two-part document describes the background and development of "Role Models Are Real People," a speakers' program for at-risk American Indian students, grades 6-8, in Chicago. The first part of the document includes the program proposal, outlining dropout statistics and other data showing reason for concern about American Indian…

The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) program was created to prevent at-risk students from low-income families from dropping out of high school. Students aged 14 or 15 years old entering 9th or 10th grade went to a college campus for 60 days during the summer to attend English and mathematics classes, work 20 hours per week, and receive…