The proposal underlying this research is that children and adolescents who are marginal or at risk can benefit from a carefully designed, school-initiated intervention. The design provides a rigorous assessment of the proposition at multiple levels, using within-subject, within-sample, within-school, and between school comparisons.
The specific aims are to (a) encourage the establishment of prosocial and productive social relationships in the school setting and in the adolescent's social network, (b) enhance the development of self- regulation and control in skills that have currency within the school, (c) strengthen school engagement and facilitate academic progress in grade-appropriate middle school academic subjects, and (d) establish bridges across the community and open access to fresh opportunities for the youth and their families, and heighten the parental investment in the child and the preventive intervention. The program begins with children's engagement in activities that have considerable intrinsic interest and which can enhance school engagement. Following from recent findings on the special importance of engagement beyond the classroom in increasing school completion in students at high risk for drop-out, two activities are introduced that can provide the setting for skills training, relationship enhancement, and academic achievement. One of the aims of the program will be to provide an avenue for adult engagement with children and schools, and help children build bridges across the community during this critical stage of development. Both children and parents will be targeted for involvement. The project involves 600 sixth grade (12-14 year old) children who live in severely economically depressed counties in rural central Alabama.
