Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth - This report offers profiles of 12 diverse dropout recovery programs in cities nationwide. Profiles provide information on each program’s components, funding supports, evidence of success and contact information. An appendix includes profiles of major national program models serving out-of-school youth. The authors propose observations on dropout recovery efforts, many of which should be of interest to policymakers and other stakeholders. Among these observations: The vast majority of out-of-school youth have been impeded not only by poor prior schooling, but also by social, economic and psychological barriers to effective learning. To become successful adults, they need multiple supports. Beyond question, youth must acquire literacy, numeracy and communication skills to be adequately prepared for adult life. In addition, service to others and to the community is a key element of many dropout prevention efforts. (Nancy Martin and Samuel Halperin, American Youth Policy Forum, March 2006)...

At-Risk Youth: School-Community Collaborations Focus on Improving Student Outcomes - This report focuses on school and community collaborations for improving student outcomes for at-risk youth. To better provide the support needed for such students to succeed in school and beyond, some schools and school districts have intensified their collaboration with businesses, community agencies and other neighborhood organizations – efforts which go substantially beyond the usual links between schools and other agencies or organizations. The goals of these initiatives center on helping students achieve in school and readying them for life after graduation. (General Accounting Office, Report #01-66, October 2000)...

The Child First Authority After-School Program: A Descriptive Evaluation - The Child First Authority (CFA) is a Baltimore communitywide after-school program that seeks to improve the quality of life in low socioeconomic status communities by directly serving public school students and their families academically, culturally and behaviorally in the after-school hours. This report describes the creation of CFA, the overall components of the program, activities conducted in the start-up year. Data from the start-up year and from the beginning of the second year indicate that a specific Child First model has been developed in which school sites employ common concepts and administrative structures, maintain an academic extended-school-day component, and vary the types of activities that they offer according to local decisions and preferences. (Olatokunbo S. Fashola, CRESPAR Report No. 38, May 1999)...