Lessons learned from the Youth Out of the Education Mainstream (YOEM) project in North Carolina include: (1) Project planning gives direction to those who have only good intentions; (2) Setting goals is essential in project development but modifications to goals and activities should be expected; (3) Freedom to choose how to apply project resources is important to site personnel; (4) Students should participate in project planning; (5) Grant projects can benefit greatly from technical assistance from the Center for the Prevention of School Violence; (6) An evaluation component can bolster project performance; (7) It is difficult for evaluations to isolate project impacts; and (8) Safe and stable learning environments, small classes, one-on-one instruction, caring teachers and administrators and access to resources are the keys to success in education today. Figures, notes