Practices of attendance, suspension, and non-promotion in middle schools in Boston (Massachusetts) encourage at-risk students to drop out. School policies and practices, student data, and interviews with at-risk students were reviewed to determine which practices encourage disengagement from school. Personal narratives are included. Major findings include the following: (1) one out of every five students does not attend school 85 percent of their time enrolled; (2) the percent of non-promoted students has increased; (3) one out of every 10 students is suspended annually; (4) Black and Hispanic students have higher rates of absenteeism, non-promotion, and suspension than the general school population. The McKinley Middle School is used as an example of the failure of the Boston schools' policies on suspension. Reform should include the following: (1) flexible scheduling; (2) interdisciplinary teams; (3) exploratory interdisciplinary curriculum; and (4) guidance counseling. Successful programs include the following: (1) RECAP; (2) Boston Student Human Services Collaborative; (3) cluster organization; (4) Project Promise; (5) Mackey Mosaic Summer Institute; and (6) Learning by Earning/Caring by Sharing. Recommendations are included for long-range reform and changes in specific policies and practices. Statistical data are included on numerous tables. The appendixes include the following: (1) a Summary of Data Collected; (2) an Explanation of the Data; and (3) a list of additional sources of information. A bibliography by topic of 68 references is also included. (FMW)