KUHF Houston’s Classic Choice 88.7 FM
“HISD Dropout Campaign”
July 29, 2006

 KUHF: For the third year Houston independent school district officials are hoping a door to door campaign will convince hundreds of high-school drop outs to return to school. Here’s Houston public radio’s Laurie Johnson with the story.

Laurie Johnson: “It’s the time of year when most high school students are shopping for new school clothes, checking supply lists and squeezing in those last few days of lazy summer entertainment. HISD Deputy Press Secretary Adrianna Villarreal says for hundreds of students the next two weeks will mark a decision to not return to school.”

Adrianna Villarreal: “It’s really hard to predict right now how many students we will actually need to go look for even, the reason we’re putting out the message now is because the first day of school is approaching it’s August 14, it’s still not here yet and what we’ve seen in the past is that most students drop out by not coming back to school the following year.”

Laurie Johnson: In August 2004 HISD sent volunteers on a door-to-door campaign in 8 neighborhoods persuading dropout students to come back to school. Last year the number of volunteers and neighborhoods doubled. More than 1,000 people combed 16 communities looking for dropouts. This year they are expanding the effort again. The district is recruiting 2,000 volunteers to send into 20 neighborhoods. Michele Pola, the Executive Director of the Houston A+ Challenge, a non-profit organization which promotes high-school reform. She says last year more than 700 students returned to school as a result of the door to door campaign.

Michele Pola: “We had heard loud and clear from students that one of the reasons why they left school was that it wasn’t relevant, that people didn’t know who they were, and personalization in relationships are a critical item for our young adults. So that this was one of the ways to show students that the city of Houston did in fact care about them, and that did in fact see education as a priority for them.”

Laurie Johnson: About 200 former dropouts have since graduated from high school and several hundred more are still enrolled and Villarreal says dropouts usually aren’t traditional students and the district had to make changes to accommodate their needs.

Adrianna Villarreal: “We understand that 9 to 4 p.m., which is a regular school day, doesn’t work for everybody. We understand that some need extra tutoring, that some need different types of courses to get them engaged that they need a more personalized education and that’s something that our teachers are so dedicated to and that our principals have really made a huge change in our schools. We’re trying to really to reform the high school experience to match what kids today have to deal with.”

Laurie Johnson: “Houston is the first city to try this door-to-door approach. Districts from around the country are watching the program to gauge its success and have contacted HISD about trying the method in other inner-city districts.”