This study investigates factors contributing to dropping out and returning to school among urban high school students. The analysis is a preliminary attempt to determine whether state or local responses are more viable in preventing high-risk students from leaving school early, and the extent to which school practices and policies may influence…

This paper reviews the literature related to the role of career and vocational education in retaining at-risk secondary youth and motivating them to return to secondary or postsecondary school. Selected literature from nonvocational but related areas of service is reviewed to provide the reader with an overview of the scope of the problem and the…

Ferris State University's (FSU's) Collegiate Skills Program assists academically underprepared students in their transition to college. The program was initiatied in fall 1985 in response to increasing numbers of entering freshmen with inadequate reading and writing skills and subsequent high rates of attrition. Focusing initially on students with…

In 1987, the New York City Board of Education established the following three placement units responsible for improving school attendance and preventing dropping out among at-risk youth: (1) the Central Placement Unit (CPU); (2) the Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS) Diversion Unit; and (3) the Bronx District Attorney's Educational Outreach…

Although workplace requirements are mandating that employees possess higher-order skills, an alarming proportion of young Canadians are dropping out of secondary school before acquiring the skills they need to survive in a super-symbolic economy. Dropout prevention programs can curtail these trends and the effectiveness of one such program, the…

The PASSAGEWAY Project (Program To Assist Secondary Students in Achieving Gainful Employment for West Alabama Youth) sought to increase the academic, social, and job skills of high-risk and dropout special education students. A cooperative program of the University of West Alabama, public schools, businesses, and social service agencies, the…

Draws on the commonalities between multicultural counseling and dropout prevention efforts to produce a general framework for individual counseling with students who have potential to drop out of high school. Discusses issues of culture conflict or racial alienation in the school environment which may increase dropout risk. (LSR)

Holistic approaches can help counter the declining college enrollment and graduation of Hispanics. Two retention programs are described: Valued Youth Partnership, a remediation and dropout prevention program; and Step-to-College, which helps Hispanic students make the transition from high school to college. (IAH)

Describes ways in which instructional media and educational technology can be used to improve the attitudes and interest of at-risk students to help keep them in school. Topics discussed include curriculum development; hardware; software; flexible programs for dropouts; and programs for homebound students that use telecommunications networks. (LRW)

Drawing from a study of exemplary community college programs, offers recommendations for increasing support for at-risk students through preenrollment activities, orientation programs, elimination of late registration, basic skills assessment, improved financial aid, expanded mentoring programs, and increased problem solving and literacy…

After teachers examined ninth-grade potential dropouts' perceptions of school success, an interdisciplinary team involved the students in mediation, identified their needs, helped develop goals, and worked to enhance achievement. Students' perceptions and attitudes significantly affected their success. Within months, students had academically and…

The Success for All model of instruction, which seeks to prevent academic problems in elementary school by addressing reading difficulties with early, intensive intervention, is described. The approach, begun with native English-speaking students at risk academically, provides tutoring from prekindergarten or kindergarten onward, particularly…

Many stay-in-school programs support some individuals but do not serve the larger school population. This digest describes a project that would integrate an array of interventions for "at-risk" youth with planned organizational and curricular re-structuring activities. The project consists of 8 groups of 55 to 60 students. While the…

A study tracked 3,192 University of Iowa freshmen through their first year and into their second year on campus. Logistic regression analyses using multiple data sources (admissions and registrar files, a standardized entrance test (the American College Testing Program Assessment) student profile section, an entering freshman survey) were…

An educator participating in a community college Puente class as both participant and observer analyzes the structure and experience of one writing assignment representative of the program's objectives. The Puente program combines teaching, counseling, and mentoring to California community college students as a means of promoting learning,…