Schools in the United States have struggled with graduation rates for nearly 140 years. School divisions are continuously searching for new and creative curriculums to address changing student needs. From the U.S. Department of Education to local school board members, educators are working to discover creative and accountable alternatives to…

Rigorous research on alternative high schools for at-risk students is extremely limited, especially for rural areas. There are case studies and descriptive reports of successful programs for rural students whose needs are not met in traditional schools. In general, these programs share the same characteristics as those found in urban areas. Some…

The State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is designed to reduce dropout rates and increase academic performance of students identified as being at-risk of dropping out of school. SCE operates as a funding source to supplement instructional services and offer academic support to students who meet the SCE at-risk criteria established by the…

"Middle College High Schools" are alternative high schools located on college campuses that aim to help at-risk students complete high school and encourage them to attend college. The four-year program offers a project-centered, interdisciplinary curriculum with an emphasis on team teaching, individualized attention, and the development…

Online K-12 education made its appearance in the mid-1990s, largely as a resource for bright students who had no access to accelerated classes. It moved next into core high-school courses where districts found themselves with teacher shortages--math, science, foreign languages--and has been growing bumptiously, and in a dozen directions, ever…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to evaluate the Positive Alternative Credit Experience (PACE) Program using an objectives-oriented approach to a formative program evaluation. The PACE Program was a semester-long high school alternative education program designed to serve students at-risk for academic failure or dropping out…

On a mid-week day in mid-December 2008, Boston Day and Evening Academy's room 209, usually used for board meetings, student assessments, awards dinners, and other occasions requiring an intimate atmosphere, smelled like Chinese food. These second-trimester students at Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) were having a reunion after just a few…

Municipal leadership can make an enormous difference in expanding the range of high school options and ensuring that more students graduate prepared for work and life. This report draws upon lessons learned from a 2005-07 project on "Helping Municipal Leaders Expand Options and Alternatives for High School," managed by the National…

Every year, "Diplomas Count" takes a careful look at nationwide trends related to high graduation. This year, they have titled their report "Graduation by the Numbers--Putting Data to Work for Student Success." This year's research shows that today's graduation climate is a tough one, particularly for minority students and…

Every 29 seconds, a U.S. student gives up on school. That's 124 students every hour; 2,979 every day; and more than 1 million every year. Most dropouts interviewed later in life stated they believe they could have succeeded in school if they had been given the right opportunity, and a special report in "Time" magazine reported "a full 88% of…

Comprehensive high schools have been unable to meet the needs of all students (Cotton, 2004). Students face challenges, and some have been labeled "at risk" for various reasons. These students constitute a unique group who often require more time, energy, and resources than large, comprehensive schools can offer. Consequently, they fall behind on…

"JOBSTART" is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED (General Educational…

In this article, three practitioners--a superintendent, a principal, and a teacher--examine how and why students drop out. The superintendent shares a new strategy to lower dropout rates, the principal discusses what are essential for schools that want to improve the achievement and graduation rates of English language learner (ELL) students, and…

The merits of a public campaign can rarely be gauged fully in its early months or even in its initial year. Rather, the true measures of a campaign's successes are revealed over time: in its ongoing impacts on opinion or policy, and on the tangible results it achieves. On both accounts, Philadelphia's Project U-Turn campaign continues to make…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Why Do I Have to Learn This?; (2) 2008 NDPN Crystal Star Winners; (3) Effective Freshman Transition for School Improvement (David Livingston, John Greene, and Lindy Stahlman); (4)…