The official school drop-out figure in the US in recent years has been 25 per cent of the cohort. Estimates from large cities are often double these rates, and in some areas 60 per cent or worse. This text focuses on this problem in US schools, but from an unusual perspective. It is a study gained from in-depth interviews of 100 "stop-outs" - that is, those who dropped out but then decided to return to school. Four basic questions are posed by this text: who drops out?; why did they drop out?; what caused them to return?; and what intervention policies can be formulated to prevent students dropping out in the first place? The answers provided by this text for the last question are intended to make it of particular interest to school administrators.

Learn how you can translate what you believe about student learning into useful practice. Your vision-based leadership can help * Build a shared commitment for your school's future * Energize staff and students to work toward real school improvements * Translate your best hopes for your school into reality The authors show you how to use your "vision statement" to create a workable procedure for attaining your goals for your school. Start by creating a positive, encouraging learning environment for your students and your teachers. Provide them with a clear direction for ongoing improvement. Learn how you can bring together the skills and resources from your teachers, parents, and community members to bring about meaningful improvement for your school. Any school leader can use the guidelines here to implement the kind of vision-based leadership that will help them create dramatic gains in their school's learning and teaching--education's bottom line. Take your vision-based goals for your school and turn them into the reality of educational excellence for your students.