EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

_his study presents an evaluation of a program in which the Austin (Texas) Independent School District's School-Community Guidance Center (SCGC) employed three project specialists to work with incorrigible and delinquent students at three locations: Travis County's Gardner House Detention Center and F. R. Rice High School and F. R. Rice Middle School, two alternative schools for secondary students removed from their home schools due to incorrigible conduct. The SCGC was designed to help these high-risk students in the areas of school attendance, academic achievement, disruptive behavior, and contacts with the courts. Major findings included the following: (1) very few students dropped out while at Rice, but rates escalated once students returned to their home schools; (2) students who had a repeat referral to Rice were more likely to remain in school 18 months and 2 years after leaving Rice than were those who did not have a repeat referral; (3) enrollment has been increasing at Rice Secondary School; and (4) the attendance of students referred to Rice declined slightly while at Rice but increased slightly after they returned to their home school. (The document describes Rice and Gardner House, services provided by SCGC, student characteristics, and student outcomes after SCGC. Statistical data from the dropout study is presented with tables and graphs.) (ABL) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document