Environmental Readiness Learning (ERL) is the affective curriculum component developed by the Bedford Stuyvesant Street Academy (New York) to improve the behavior, academic achievement, and self-esteem of urban high school students with histories of prior school failure. The program design reflects the school's philosophy that educational success is a cooperative venture involving students, parents, community, teachers, and school staff. Objectives are the following: (1) provide opportunities to express feelings; (2) present nonthreatening examples of successful adult and peer problem solving; (3) foster a positive self-image based on mental and physical control; and (4) enable students to work together and develop a sense of social responsibility. An intensive orientation program, the assignment of students to ongoing peer support groups, and individual and group counseling are fundamental to program success. Innovative techniques drawn from the theatre, psychodrama, role playing, and rap sessions are described. The history of the Street Academy, copies of the Turner Student Aspiration Inventory and Counseling Questionnaire, sample formats for an ERL session, and a plan for staff development are included in four appendices. (FMW)