The study examines the relationship between success upon leaving an alternative school program and immediate measures of program effect. The strength of the relationship was used to determine the degree to which the program effected its long term goals of preparing students for future academic or vocational success. Student success was defined as…

FOCUS is an alternative school program for alienated high school students, designed to prevent them from dropping out. The key components of the program are discussed. (KC)

Describes the Occupational Laboratory Achievement Program in Warren, Ohio, city schools designed to help vocational students, particularly disadvantaged youth, to acquire skills and maturity before being placed in the Ohio Occupational Work Experience program operated specifically for academically disadvantaged students. (MF)

Students who eventually drop out of school have a long-term disadvantage in becoming productive citizens. The traditionally structured U.S. high school system does not facilitate high school education for at-risk students. Some schools, however, do organize themselves around the needs of the at-risk student population. This study analyzed the…

New York's Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI) is examined from the perspective of Dewey's educational philosophy. DPI employs an approach which "blames the victim" in contrast to the Deweyan approach which considers the social organization of schools as critical. Three components of DPI are critiqued: attendance incentives, career…

An urban New Jersey district changed its high-school suspension policy, giving chronically tardy students administrative detention. Suspensions have been halved, and more students are graduating. Other successful programs include peer mediation and an alternative-education/tutoring program for disaffected middle-schoolers. (MLH)

Donna Johnson teaches troubled, abused, and mentally disturbed teenage girls at Hope Hill Children's Home Alternative School. She also teaches students who earn credits toward a diploma through Providence High School, an online entity Johnson created from scratch last January. It seems like a mighty odd move for a 58-year old grandmother with no…

Keeping high school students in school and helping them gain competence and confidence in skills so that they can be successful in the world of work and/or college is an enormous challenge. The results of one study clearly demonstrated a direct correlation between one's self-esteem and academic competence. The more competent one feels, the better…

An evaluation of an alternative program for at-risk high school students offered in the Porter County (Indiana) school system is described in this report. The evaluation was based on student assessments of the program, obtained through use of an interview format. The program, which provides instruction in basic subject areas required for…

The Comprehensive Dropout Prevention Plan utilizes the resources of Broward County public schools and the community for dropout prevention. A matrix of dropout prevention options has been assembled from both existing programs and from new program designs. General components of the plan include the following: (1) dropout retrieval activities; (2)…

This paper describes and evaluates Grand Academy, an alternative junior high school set up in New York City by a local district and a nonprofit community-based organization to meet the needs of students who have twice failed to meet Board of Education promotioal standards in the seventh grade. The instructional program, provided by the school…

This directory on Iowa alternative programs for potential and actual dropouts begins with a brief summary of the state's dropout problem accompanied by nine references. Descriptions of some of the special programs and schools precede the full text of state legislation for funding and administering dropout programs. The next section, in outline…

Data on dropout patterns in New York City Public Schools are provided and analyzed in order to identify issues to be addressed and contribute to the establishment of standards and criteria for program development. Part I introduces the key questions to be asked. In Part II, the term dropout is defined according to State Education guidelines; the…

Approaches to improve student achievement through improved self-actualization are attempted in the following programs: Rev. Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH; the U.S. Department of Labor's program known as the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Project Program; Denver, Colorado's New Pride Experiment; the Michigan Expeditions Program; and the John…

The work experience career exploration program (WECEP), a junior high school alternative education program for potential school dropouts, was implemented at Ben Franklin Junior High School in the Fargo, North Dakota, school district during the 1975-76 school year. Patterned after vocational education cooperative work experience programs, WECEP is…