This report examines the issues associated with school-to-work programs being developed in the U.S. and provides recommendations designed to facilitate the process of developing a national school-to-work initiative. It stresses the nation's increasing need for better-educated workers but notes the low rate (less than 50 percent) of high school graduates who pursue a postsecondary education, and even lower rate (25 percent) of those attaining a 4-year degree, with Latinos experiencing the lowest educational levels in the country. School-to-work initiatives are viewed as a possible answer to the dilemma, but neither educators nor business people have been very effective at developing a model of one. Concerns about the school-to-work model revolve around the following areas: (1) too much emphasis being placed on the vocational aspect of the program; (2) too little flexibility for changes in occupational focus without harming academic progress; (3) the potential for displacement of current workers; (4) problems with access to the program, particularly for Latinos; (5) the existence of discriminatory hiring practices against school-to-work graduates; and (6) a lack of employment opportunities. Descriptions of five promising school-to-work models are provided. (Contains 12 references.) (GLR)