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…

Puente Projects are currently operating at 10 community colleges in California to increase retention, general education requirements completion, and transfer among Hispanic community college students. Puente integrates the skills of an English teacher, a Hispanic counselor, and Hispanic professionals acting as mentors to promote academic…

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…

A study was conducted at St. Louis Community College to disaggregate statistics for fall 1985 nonreturning students by educational goal and full-time/part-time status in order to provide more meaningful data for both internal and external evaluation of student retention and outcomes. Study findings included the following: (1) the comparison of…

This report describes methodology and results of a study to determine the nature and extent of the high school dropout problem in the Appalachian region and to explore characteristics of existing programs dealing with dropout problems in the region. Data aggregation complicated by lack of standardization in reporting numbers of dropouts and…

This guidebook presents a variety of dropout prevention strategies and is intended to help readers determine which strategies are best suited for a particular classroom, school, or district. The primary audience is school personnel who work with young adolescents. It begins by addressing major dropout issues, primary research findings, and…

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…

This study examines the relationships developed between elder mentors and at-risk youth in the following exemplary intergenerational programs: (1) IUE/The Work Connection (Saugus, Massachusetts); (2) Teen Moms (Portland, Maine); (3) School Volunteers for Boston (Massachusetts); (4) Teenage Parent Alternative Program (Lincoln Park, Michigan); and…

These materials are intended to help adult basic education (ABE) instructors in their role as counselors. Most are suitable for use in a workshop for ABE instructors. An introduction describes the ABE Retention through Counseling Program and highlights the skills an ABE instructor needs to work with adult learners. Chapter 1 provides pointers for…

A study was conducted by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) to determine impediments to and facilitators of adult students' success during their first semester of attendance at a community college and to recommend interventions which would minimize the difficulties of returning adults as they attempt to manage the learning process. The…

Coordinated Vocational Academic Education (CVAE) is offered at three middle schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District, Texas. Courses in automobile mechanics, cosmetology, and home and community services are provided for potential dropout students who meet specific criteria: (1) low achievement; (2) inadequate communication skills;…

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?…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of school district participation in CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) youth programs in Box Elder and Cache Counties, Utah, as well as the overall effectiveness of CETA youth programs administered by the Bear River Association of Governments. For three years, the Bear River Association of…

In today's poor economic climate, there is an acute need to coalesce the fragments of research related to student attrition into a systematic program for increasing the chances of student success. Such a unifying program can be visualized on a continuum of retention strategies ranging from impersonal administrative actions to more complicated,…

Most treaties negotiated with Indian tribes between 1778 and 1868 contain a clause insuring that the federal government will provide Indians with full educational opportunity in exchange for their ceded lands. This promise has not been fulfilled. Indian students are dropping out of Washington schools at rates estimated between 38-60 percent;…