Problem: Fresno County, CA had a growing number of youth dropping out of high school. Conventional programs which target the high school students are not always effective at significantly reducing the dropout rate. By high school, students who are at risk for dropping out have often fallen far enough behind that helping them out is difficult. Proposed Solution: The county decided that the best step was to work with children as early as kindergarten to prevent later dropping out. The K-SIX program was created in a number of elementary schools in needy areas to help address the problem. The goal of the program is to help students with academic, behavioral, or language problems before these problems become insurmoutable. Staff members for the program are placed in each school; this contact allows them to arrange for needed services effectively. The program works to involve other community swervice providers, as well as to involve the family and the community with the school. Evaluation: The K-SIX program has initially proved effective. Attendance has improved and behavior problems have declined among students helped by the program. Although most participants have yet to reach high school, the group that have done so are still in school. Despite a high rate of teen pregnancy in the county, none of the involved students have become teen parents. Contact: Citation: "Innovations in State and Local Government 1991." New York: The Ford Foundation, 1991. pp 6-7. Keywords: education dropout prevention