As the transition point between middle and high school, ninth grade can either set a student up for long-term success or diminish a student's likelihood of graduating high school altogether. The Ninth Grade Success Initiative is a dropout prevention program, piloted in five Washington State high schools in 2019-2020. We evaluated the effects on student outcomes and found that the program led to improvements in course grades, behavioral outcomes, more effective targeting of services to higher-need students, and better preparation for the COVID-19 transition to virtual learning.