Upon leaving school, many of these youth experience such hardships as unemployment or employment at part-time jobs offering few or no employee benefits and only poverty level incomes. In 1986, nearly one-third of all families headed by persons under 25 had below poverty-level incomes -- a rate more than double that of 1867 and triple the 10.9 percent rate of all American families in 1986. In fact, learning in schools is only one means of educating people; youth groups, churches, volunteer organizations, and the workplace also provide valuable educational experiences for people. All of these agencies, not just the schools, need to attend more to the education of our nation's youth. The first action on behalf of the Forgotten Half must be to change the way society views them as failures and misfits, simply because they do not attend college. They must be seen as a vital half of America's future. Our highest priority should be enlarged investment in early intervention to improve the physical and mental health and school-readiness of disadvantaged children. Greater flexibility in our educational system is needed as are increased opportunities for work-study, apprenticeships, and vocational training. Additional community support to families is also needed. The article makes specific recommendations for action on the local, State, and Federal levels.