The number of high school dropouts in the United States is staggering. Every day, 7,000 students drop out and only about 70 percent of students nationwide leave high school with a traditional high school diploma. Previous research has shown that students demonstrating risk factors for dropout can be identified early in middle school. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a multi-component career awareness program called Tech Team on the academic achievement, attendance, and behavior of eighth grade students. Thirty-four students received the three component intervention, which included a career exploration experience at an applied technology center, a career awareness course, and a mentoring program based on the research-based "Check & Connect" program. An additional thirty-four students were randomly assigned to a control group. The efficacy of the Tech Team program was assessed through a variety of measures including Grades in Language Arts and Mathematics, rates of attendance, as well as numbers of discipline referrals and suspensions from school. Results indicated that students who participated in the Tech Team intervention significantly increased grades in Language Arts and Mathematics, and significantly lowered suspensions from school as compared to the students in the control group. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]