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)

Examines one national goal--to make our national high school graduation rate reach 90 percent by 2000--by focusing on the dropout problem. Poverty and cultural differences play a major role in determining who drops out. Exploring multiple-intelligences research and emphasizing educational research and development are sound strategies. Includes 33…

Reviews current efforts in the movement for providing parents and students school selection choices. Benefits resulting from school choice include: dropout reduction, increased achievement, more parental involvement, racial integration, and improved morale. Outlines the features of a desirable choice plan and the prospects for development of…

This nation has spent billions of public dollars over the years on dropout prevention, with limited results. Inspired by Eugene Lang's successes, this article proposes that every state create a Student Incentive Plan for economically disadvantaged children designed to mitigate a legacy of poverty and increase these children's financial security…

To counter the teenage pregnancy epidemic, sex education should be expanded to a twelve year learning program. Schools must develop imaginative and innovative programs geared to their individual and community needs. School-based medical clinics and special programs for pregnant and parenting teens may be necessities in some communities. (MD)

A detailed account of Texarkana schools' performance contract with private industry. (MF)

The teenage pregnancy rate in the United States is one of the highest in the western world. School administrators rank it as one of their top ten problems. Presents a statistical overview of the problem and the approaches schools are taking to combat teenage pregnancy. The most successful programs have broad community, parental, and student…

Reviews the problems of teenage pregnancy, including the costs to society, the challenge to educators, and the types of preventive programs developing across the country. Programs dealing strictly with reproduction and contraception are the least effective deterrents to teenage pregnancy. (MD)

Horizon High School combats student dropout rates in Bakersfield (California) by maintaining a small enrollment, high community involvement, close student-teacher relationships, flexible scheduling, and attention to individual students' educational needs and interests. Student attendance, graduation rates, and standardized test scores are…

Research shows that poor student-teacher relations adversely affect students' self-concept. Teachers at a Florida high school created positive advisor/advisee relationships for a group of high-risk students with grade-point averages of 1.5 or below. After 21 weeks, these students had better attendance and grade-point averages than control-group…

Reports on the results of several major studies of high school dropouts. Topics addressed are who drops out and why; school-related causes; and prevention policies and programs. Stresses the urgency of addressing the nationwide dropout problem and recommends courses of action. Appended are 19 references. (IW)

The educational reform movement has proven largely irrelevant to urban minority students' needs. Dropout prevention programs have bestowed meaningless diplomas, while side-stepping the root causes of failure and underachievement. Urban high schools are large and impersonal and have a sour, dispirited atmosphere that discourages learning. Clearly,…