In response to alarming drop-out rates among high school students and indications that the emerging workforce will be predominantly minority and disadvantaged, the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System (CCCOES) developed the Partners program to encourage minority students from as early as seventh grade to remain and succeed in school. The program, which is a partnership between the CCCOES, the Denver Public Schools, and the Colorado Minority Engineers Association (CMEA), provides mentoring and counseling to high school students and supports minority students who desire to begin their postsecondary education at a Denver metro-area state community college. Partners is a complement to the CMEA's Mathematical Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program and the heart of both efforts is an emphasis on individual students, approached through such activities as curriculum and career counseling, academic tutorials tailored to students' individual needs, incentive scholarship awards to be applied to postsecondary education, and summer job opportunities. Requirements for participants in the MESA Partners program include 60% attendance in weekly program meetings; participation in one family orientation program per school year; participation in a minimum of three tutorial sessions each grading period; and a grade point average of 2.0 in the math, science, and English curriculum. Program advisors are required to ensure that: a field trip to a college or university is scheduled in the first semester, all high school juniors are signed up for appropriate tests, and all seniors have completed applications and scholarship requests on time. Advisor checklists are included in the report. (ALB)