Every year, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds drop out of school and attempt to enter the work force without any specialized training. The purpose of this study was to understand if dropout prevention programs change a potential dropout's attitude toward school in a public school district. A quantitative, quasi-experimental research design was employed to determine the change in attitudes toward school after being involved in the dropout prevention program. Lemert's societal reaction theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study. A paired t-test was used to compare before and after treatment attitude scores of students in two high schools who participated in the dropout prevention program. Results indicated significant improvement in attitudes toward school and toward the dropout prevention program after the intervention. This study contributes to social change by helping school officials understand how students' attitudes contribute to the decision to leave school early, thus promoting opportunities to encourage students to complete their education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]