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This paper discusses dropout prevention and "Forward in the Fifth," an innovative program for school development in the Fifth Congressional District of southern Kentucky. The program focused on formation of a support group that could give school systems sustained financial and educational support from community and business leaders. Local groups formed to attack the dropout problem of the Fifth District, which was rated in 1980 as the lowest in educational achievement of any in the country. Small-grant programs encouraged teachers to try new ways of motivating students. Administrators and teachers met to exchange ideas. Colleges and universities formed a consortium to raise the number of college-goers among high school graduates. Substantial grant money was acquired. "Forward in the Fifth" was born at a 1986 conference among district leaders, who linked development of economic opportunities and improved education. Conference participants carried the program throughout southern Kentucky communities. The document includes a timeline of events that marked the progress of the "Forward in the Fifth" program. A study of Fifth District educational attitudes made by the Mountain Association for Community and Economic Development (MAECD) is discussed. MAECD reported: the need to understand that Fifth District students are as smart as anyone else, even though educational quality lags; that people there care about education; and that people understand educational improvement is a task for everyone, not just educators and professionals. MAECD also learned that political patronage with its attendant low standards, perceived by many as one of the greatest obstacles to improving education. (TES)